25 July 2021, Tokyo: Manika Batra defeated World number 32 Margaryta Pesotska of Ukraine by 4 – 3 in her round 2 singles match on Table number 4 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym here on Sunday.
Unlike her straight game first round win over her British opponent Ho Tin Tin, Manika had to give her all in a the match where the fortunes swung like a pendulum. Manika lost the first two games 4-11, 4-11 to trail her Ukrainian opponent by two games to nil. Ranked 62 in the world, the Indian paddler came back strongly to win the next two games 11-7 and 12-10 to level the match.
The Ukrainian won the fifth game 11-8 to take a 3-2 lead going into the sixth game. However, Manika Batra showed tremendous resolve to take the next two games 11-5, 11-7 and seal the match that lasted 57 minutes.
In the next round, she will take on Sofia Polcanova of Austria for a place in the round of 16.
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
24 Jul 2021 |
Manika Batra
|
4 – 3 |
|
Margaryta Pesotska
Manika is leading the way for Indian paddlers.