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India's top-ranked table tennis player Sathiyan Gnanasekaran bit the dust in the ongoing Singapore Smash tournament on Monday, losing in the round-of-32 stage.
The top-ranked Indian player was outsmarted by South Korea's Lim Jong-Hoon 3-11, 11-5, 8-11, 4-11.
However, there was something to cheer for for the Indian fans as the women’s doubles pair of Manika Batra and Archana Kamath eked out a hard-fought win to enter the quarter-finals.
The Indian women’s doubles duo defeated Singapore’s Goi Rui Xuan and Wong Xin Ru 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5.
Read: Indian paddlers Suhana Saini and Yashaswini win gold at WTT Youth Star Contender
Sathiyan loses plot against Lim
Sathiyan, arguably a far better player than the South Korean, managed to win just one game.
After a bad opening, the Indian did well to run his opponent through in the second game.
But the Korean came back strong in the third to go 2-1 up and mounted pressure on Sathiyan, who eventually wilted in the fourth game without a fight.
Meanwhile, in the men's doubles, Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal failed to come to terms with the World No. 2 South Korean pair of Lim Jong-hoon and Jong Woo-Jin, losing 7-11, 7-11, 8-11 in the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s doubles.
Also read: Ayhika Mukherjee elated with first WTT medal
The No. 31 ranked Indian pair did put up some resistance but it wasn't good enough to oust the Korean duo.
The Indian mixed doubles pair of Sathiyan and Manika Batra also lost in the quarterfinals to the top-seeded mixed pair of Cheng-I-Ching and Lin Yun-Ju of Taipei, going down 8-11, 3-11, 6-11 in the quarterfinals.
The Taipei duo took some time to warm up, as was evident in the first game. But once they did, the paddlers quickly disposed of the Indians, allowing a mere nine points to the 10th-ranked pair in the next two games.
Manika-Archana pair on cue
The Indian women's doubles duo of Manika Batra and Archana Kamath played well to post a win, even though they came under immense pressure.
A good game plan helped the Indian duo survive despite fortunes swaying one way or the other thorughout.
Also read: Keerthana Swaminathan: The sports science and exercise psychologist behind paddlers
