Table Tennis: Manika Batra bows out

Austrian Sofia Polcanova crushed Indian hopes as she thrashed Manika Batra in straight sets in the third round of the Women’s table tennis singles event here in Tokyo.

It took just 27 mins for the 27-year-old Austrian to dispatch the Indian who had no answers to the Austrian’s play.

The Indian’s game was visibly affected by the lack of a coach by her side as she kept on making errors that ultimately cost her dearly.

Manika Batra found it tough to connect shots, her returns were mistimed.

With this loss, Manika Batra’s Olympic campaign comes to an end.

Veteran paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal is the only Indian paddler left in the fray as all others have been knocked out.

Score: Sofia Polcanova beat Manika Batra 11-8 11-2 11-5 11-7