Table Tennis
Manav Thakkar starts with a win on WTT Champions debut in Frankfurt
He defeated Tomislav Pucar of Croatia in his first-ever appearance on the WTT Champions Circuit.
Manav Thakkar advances to the R16 of WTT Champions Frankfurt. (Photo credit: WTT)
Indian ace Manav Thakkar advanced to the round of 16 WTT Champions Frankfurt after a tough five-game thriller against Tomislav Pucar in Germany on Tuesday.
After a few consistent results over the year, he has now entered the world top 40, which helped him to secure his spot in the main draw of the toughest WTT singles tournament.
In his debut WTT Champions Match, Manav had a tough start but maintained his composure to defeat the experienced Croatian narrowly, 12-10, 3-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-7.
He will now await the winner of the match between South Korea's Oh Jungsung and fourth-seeded Felix Lebrun of France in his pre-quarterfinal match tomorrow.
On the other hand, the Indian ace women's singles player will begin her campaign against the wildcard German player in the first round post midnight IST on Wednesday.
This is Manika's 12th WTT Champions tournament, but she has crossed the first round barrier only twice and will be hoping to improve that record with a win against Annett Kaufmann in Frankfurt.
This will be the third meeting between the two payers, with head-to-head record levelled at 1-1. The last meeting between the two players was in the Paris Olympics, where the German got the better of Manika.
