Team Table Tennis Championships 2024: India’s Ayhika, Sreeja, Manika lose against China

New Delhi [India], February 16 (ANI): The Indian women’s team, led by Ayhika Mukherjee, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula fell short in front of the People’s Republic of China in the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2024 fixture on Friday in Busan.

Each tie consists of a maximum of five singles games in the World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals. The first side to win three matches wins the tie.

In the first match, Ayhika clinched a win against Sun Yingsha by 3-1 (10-12, 11-2, 11-13, 6-11) and got an early lead against China.

In the second game, Manika Batra lost to Wang Manyu 3-1 (11-3, 11-8, 13-15, 11-7) as China equalised the score.

Sreeja sealed a victory over Wang Yidi by 3-0 (7-11, 9-11, 11-13) in the third match and gave India a lead for the second time in the tie.

However, China sealed two consecutive matches to clinch the tie against India by 3-2.

Sun Yingsha won over Manika Batra by 3-1 (11-3, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9) in the fourth game. On the other hand, Wang Manyu beat Ayhika 3-0 (11-9, 13-11, 11-6) in the final match.

Ayhika-led Indian women’s side will play against Hungary in their upcoming fixture on Sunday. Meanwhile, the men’s team, led by Sharath Kamal, will kick off their campaign against Chile on Saturday.