WTT Muscat 2024: A brave Swastika Ghosh succumbs to third seed Xunyao

Indian paddler Swastika Ghosh lost to third-seeded Chinese paddler Shi Xunyao in the quarterfinals of the ongoing WTT Contenders Muscat 2024, on Friday. 

Before losing the match 1-3 (7-11, 11-8, 4-11, 8-11) Swastika did put up a spirited fight against a tough opponent, in what is her first quarterfinal appearance in a WTT Contender event. 

Incidentally, this is the first time Swastika has gone past the first round in a WTT Contender event.

With her defeat, the Indian challenge at the Muscat Contender draws to a close.

Swastika fights back

The match got off to a tense start with both paddlers testing each other but Shi Xunyao had her nose in front early on and stayed ahead throughout game one, eventually winning it 11-7 to take the lead.

Swastika, however, was quick to fight back and did so brilliantly in game two, capitalizing on an early lead thanks to a few unforced errors from the Chinese, and kept the advantage right till the end, winning game two to draw level.

Under pressure, the Chinese hit back strongly.

She completely dominating the third game, winning it 11-4 and to take a commanding 2-1 lead over Swastika. 

Having to win the fourth game to keep the match alive, Swastika fought tooth and nail in the fourth game.

At 8-8, it was anyone's game. 

But a quick time-out from the Chinese made all the difference and Shi Xunyao stormed through, taking the remaining three points on the trot and winning the match 3-1. 

For Swastika, however, this will be a tournament to remember, having come all the way to the last eight despite being ranked a lowly175 in the WTT rankings.