Saachi Baat Special
Indian star Manika Batra on Monday scripted history by becoming the first India table tennis player to qualify for the round of 16 in the table tennis event at the Paris Olympics..
The 29-year-old diva was in her zone from the very beginning and breezed past 19-year-old Prithika Pavade of France to register a 4-0 win in less than one hour.
Local favourite Pavade had a huge backing of fans. In such an ambience, for Manika to stay unperturbed and bring in all her experience to make the nation proud late on Monday night was great. The 2018 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist won 11-9, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 against the higher-ranked opponent. Notably, the parents of Pavade migrated from Puducherry in India to France in 2003. She was born a year later in 2004. She was seeded 12th at Paris Olympics – six more than 18th seed Manika Batra, who was all smiles after the historic win. Also, Manika is currently ranked 28th in the world, 10 places lower than Pavade.
However, that did not matter to Manika Batra. Her defence was unstoppable. Pavade played some attacking shots, but Manika was electric with her backhand flicks. The Indian held her nerves after losing a series of points and then successfully winning the game was also the highlight of the match.
Before leaving for Paris, Manika had spoken of doing well at the Olympics. This win was defining and will set the path for more shooters in India.
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