IMAGE: Manika Batra is the first Indian player to make it to the top eight of a WTT Champions tournament. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
>Manika Batra’s historic run at the World Table Tennis Champions Montpellier 2024 tournament came to an end in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Manika went down 0-3 (8-11, 8-11, 10-12) to China’s Qian Tianyi in the quarter-finals.
The Indian had made history in in Montpellier, France, becoming the first Indian player to make it to the top eight of a WTT Champions tournament.
WTT Champions was launched two years back and is a series of premier table tennis tournaments featuring the world’s top 32
male and female players with massive prize money and boost in ranking points.
World No 30 Manika reached the quarters after a shock victory over World No 14 Bernadette Szocs of Romania by 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) win on Friday.
She started her campaign with an easy win over Lily Zhang of US and followed it with a 29-minute win over eighth-seeded Szocs.
World No 21 Tianyi proved to be a tough opponent. She had upset compatriot Yidi, the top seed and World No 4\ 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 13-11) in the round of 16.
Another Indian Sreeja Akula, ranked 25th, bowed out in the first round after losing to World No 13 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico by 3-2 (6-11, 11-7, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8).
There were no Indians in the men’s singles competition at the WTT Champions Montpellier 2024.
