"Bharat ki betiyon ne kamaal Kar diya" - Fans hail the India women’s TT team for emphatic Round-of-16 win against Romania at Paris Olympics 2024
The India women’s table tennis team has made a remarkable start to the women’s team event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. India defeated Romania in the Round of 16 today (August 5), in what was a nerve-wrecking encounter.
The trio of Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath won the five-match contest 3-2. With the win, the India women’s TT team has now advanced to the quarter-finals.
The encounter started with the doubles match that saw Sreeja and Archana take on Adina Diaconu and Elizabeta Samara. The Indian duo won the match comprehensively with a scoreline of 11-9, 12-10 and 11-7.
Manika Batra went up next for the India women's TT team and beat Bernadette Szocs 11-5, 11,7, 11-7. In Match 3, Romania came back, with Samara defeating Sreeja Akula 3-2.
Romania continued to bounce back, winning the fourth match as well. Szocs beat Archana Kamath 3-1, thus leveling the contest 2-2.
It was then that Batra used her pedigree and showed great composure. The star Indian paddler closed out the tie in India’s favor in the last match. She defeated Diaconu 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 to guide the India women's TT team into the next round.
The Indian fans took to the social media platform X (Twitter) to laud the women’s team on their performance.
"Bharat ki betiyon ke kamaal Kar diya!" wrote a fan on X.
"Manika Batra - the queen of Indian Table Tennis," commented a supporter.
"The table tennis girls have just created HISTORY!" wrote businessman Parth Jindal.
"MANIKA BATRA, THE SUPERSTAR OF INDIAN TABLE TENNIS," commented a fan.
"CONGRATULATIONS MANIKA, SREEJA, ARCHANA. So many firsts this season, a way paved for so many more going forward." wrote a user.
India Women’s TT team reinstills optimism post disappointing singles campaign
India’s table tennis contingent has so far failed to finish on the podium in either of the men’s or women’s singles events. However, the India women’s TT team winning their first encounter in the team event has set the ball rolling again.
Though Batra and Akula both had to be content with a loss in their women’s singles Round-of-16 matches, it appeared that they have not let the loss dampen their confidence much.
The India women’s TT team will now be competing in the women’s team event quarter-finals. The men’s team comprising Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar will be featuring in the men’s team event Round of 16 on Tuesday (August 6).