Sharath Kamal/Manika Batra Mixed Team Table Tennis Olympics 2021: Chinese Taipei beats India 4-0

A medal hope in mixed doubles vanishes in just under 30 minutes. Talk about how dominant the Chinese Taipei pair has been. It took a while for the Indian pair to read the game and with the Taipei pair being experts in top spins, the Indians were under the mat. Manika did show some glimpses of form by using the pimpled side but sadly it wasn't enough by any mile.

The times for each game should give us an indication of how dominant the Chinese Taipei pair has been. The fourth game taking just 4 minutes!!

The Indians have been completely outplayed in just 27 minutes.

That's it. Backhand push from Cheng and Chinese Taipei beat India 4-0 with the score line of 11-4 in the fourth game.

Six match points for Chinese Taipei.

There is no way India is getting back into this game as they are looking clueless against superior spin play.

For the first time, Lin finds the net on his backhand and India get a point on board at 1-7 but a smash from Cheng bisects the Indian pair to perfection to make it 8-1.

This is absolute carnage here. Backhand top spin from Lin and Manika Batra cannot reach it. 6-0 for Chinese Taipei now.

Cheng in red hot form as Taipei takes four points on the trot in the fourth to go 4-0 up.

This is how the game has panned out so far!

Indian pair staring down the barrel.

Sharath cannot control Lin's return and it goes out as Chinese Taipei go 3-0 with a 11-6 scoreline in the third.

Five game points for the Chinese Taipei at 10-5.

Well played by Lin and a good use of the pimpled side by Manika. However, it is the Taipei pair who are in lead at 9-5.

Manika tried to be a little aggressive with her push and ends up hitting out of trajectory. Chinese Taipei leads 6-3 and it is an Indian timeout.

The Indians have been caught on the wrong foot multiple times by failing to read the Chinese Taipe's game. A good combination of top spins from both the Taipei players sees them run away at 5-3.

The third set starts!

Manika Batra is missing the trick here. She is not able to convert points by misreading the serves and the Chinese Taipei pair runs away with the second set at 11-6.

A beautiful smash from Cheng and Manika sends it into the orbit. Taipei leads 7-6.

An excellent cross court placement from Lin and Sharath has no answers to it. It is all even at 6-6.

A flat shot from Sharath and the Chinese Taipei pair have no answers to it. India leads 5-4.

Manika Batra tries to get on top of the top spin but finds the net as Taipei equalize 2-2.

India starts the second set well. Two straight points.

While the Chinese Taipei pair relied on top spins and executed them to perfection, Manika Batra gave some glimpses of good pimple blocks. India need more of those to come to the fore.

Manika Batra cannot take a return clean as the Chinese Taipei pair run away with the first game at 11-8.

India gets back into the game. The experience of Sharath Kamal comes to the fore as he slices a couple of shots brilliantly while Manika Batra comes to the fore with an immaculate cross court placement. India crawls back at 8-10.

The wait is almost over! 🇮🇳 #Tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/AnXi9O24he
— Sharath Kamal OLY (@sharathkamal1) July 23, 2021

Manika finds the net as the Chinese Taipei pair run away with the lead at 9-5.

Chinese Taipei crawls back with back-to-back points and infact take a slender lead too as the Indian pair miss a couple of returns. Sharath looked uneasy in taking a return on his right and misjudged the trajectory completely.

The Indians are looking solid. They aren't giving anything away.

India off to a decent start. Take the first two points onboard as the Chinese pair start with an unforced error.

The warmups and practice are over. We are all set.

The mixed doubles start with the pre-quarterfinals and four wins in this event gets you the gold medal.

The players are warming up. Sharath and Manika are in with coach Soumyadeep Roy.

Since the Seoul Olympics in 1988, Indian paddlers have taken part in every edition of Olympic table tennis, even though they have hardly progressed beyond the second round.

Can they better it this time in Tokyo?

There are a lot of hopes on Manika Batra.

Manika Batra is undoubtedly the poster girl for Indian table tennis. Ever since she won the Commonwealth Games gold in 2018, Batra has been considered the woman who can change the fortunes of Indian table tennis for the better.

The question now is - can she really change it?

We will get a sneak peek in a while.

The stage is set. We will have Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra walk in soon onto the courts.

We are just minutes away from the start.

Sharath Kamal talks strategy ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Since winning the bronze medal in mixed doubles at the 2018 Asian games, expectations have increased from Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra. Indian paddlers have never won a medal at the Olympics but with the right tactics, this table tennis duo can surprise anybody on a given day.

My job is to build pressure on opponents before Manika takes over - Sharath Kamal talks strategy ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Full list and schedule of table tennis players to represent India at Olympics 2021

The youngest ever....

The Tokyo Olympics 2021 will have its youngest participant in Hend Zaza.

The 12-year-old will represent Syria in the women's table tennis event.

Her journey from Syria to Tokyo has been unbelievable. Facing all of the adversity and fighting through the pandemic, Zaza will be one of the players to definitely keep an eye on.

The link below has a few details about the young paddler.

Introducing Hend Zaza, the 12-year-old Syrian prodigy competing at the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Good morning and welcome to Sportskeeda's LIVE table tennis blog. The action is now at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Shibuya, Tokyo.

The first match for the paddlers is the mixed doubles match where Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal take on Chinese Taipei's Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching.

Sharath Kamal is playing his fourth Summer Games while Manika Batra is in her second Olympics.

Sharath Kamal/Manika Batra Mixed Team Table Tennis Olympics 2021: Chinese Taipei beats India 4-0

Live scores & commentary from Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra mixed doubles TT Olympics 2021 match