Olympics 2024: Indian women's table tennis team falter in quarters

The Indian women's table tennis team crashed out of the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics after suffering a defeat to Germany, on Wednesday.

The team comprising Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula and, Archana Kamath lost to the Germans 3-1. 

Doubles

The tie began with the doubles contest where Germany's Shan Xiaona and Yuan Wan faced India's duo, Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath.

Germany took the lead early, winning the first game convincingly. However, India bounced back to claim the second game.

Despite this effort, the Germans regained their momentum, dominating the third game and sealing the match in the fourth with a final score of 11-6.

This victory gave Germany a crucial 1-0 lead in the tie.

Singles

Manika Batra was the first to step up for India in singles, facing Germany's Annett Kaufmann. Manika started strong, taking the first game 11-8.

However, Kaufmann's aggressive play turned the tide. She won the next two games decisively, 11-5 and 11-7, putting her ahead 2-1.

Kaufmann maintained her dominance over Manika, winning the fourth game 11-5 and securing Germany's second point in the tie.

Archana Kamath then played against Shan Xiaona to keep India's hopes alive. Archana fought hard, winning a thrilling first game 19-17 after multiple tiebreaks.

Shan responded powerfully in the second game, winning 11-1. The third game saw Archana come back strong, winning 11-5, but Shan took control again in the fourth game, initially leading but eventually losing 11-9 to Archana, keeping India in the tie at 2-1.

The final and decisive match featured Sreeja Akula against Annett Kaufmann. Kaufmann, already in formidable form, continued her winning streak.

She took the first game 11-6, followed by a strong performance in the second game, winning 11-7.

In the third game, despite Sreeja's efforts to stay in contention, Kaufmann's superior play led her to an 11-7 victory, clinching the match and sending Germany into the semifinals with a 3-1 overall score.

Germany's hero of the day was undoubtedly the 19-year-old Annett Kaufmann, ranked 100th in the WTT rankings. Her victories over the higher-ranked Indian players Manika Batra (25) and Sreeja Akula (22) were pivotal in Germany's progression.

With this defeat, India's table tennis campaign at the Paris Olympics came to a close.

Earlier, the Indian men's team lost to the China in pre-quarterfinals.