World Table Tennis Championships Finals: Manika, Manav, Diya’s defeats end India’s challenge in singles event

DOHA: India’s star paddler Manika Batra crashed out of the World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2025 after enduring a defeat against the Republic of Korea’s Ga-Hyeon Park in her women’s round of 64 match in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

Manika, ranked 46 globally, ousted Nigeria’s Fatimo Bello in her opening round fixture. However, she suffered a 4-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8) defeat against Ga-Hyeon Park in the next match. The 144th-ranked paddler trounced Manika in a fixture that lasted for just over 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, Diya Chitale lost against the three-time Olympian Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei in the round of 64. Chitale crashed out of the tournament after finding herself on the back foot in the opening three games.

After losing the first three games, Chitale bounced back in the fourth game. She threatened to come back after showing signs of a spirited comeback; however, Cheng closed out the win with a victory in the fifth game and moved to the next round with a 4-1 (11-3, 11-7, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5) triumph.

Coming to the men’s singles event, Manav Thakkar fought with valiance, but it wasn’t enough to confirm his spot in the next round. He walked out of the World Table Tennis Championships Finals after losing to Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto.

World No. 49 Thakkar made Harimoto, who is fourth in the men’s singles table tennis rankings, toil hard for the victory. Manav saved two game points in the opener and even won the third and fifth games, hinting at a potential upset.

However, Manav’s effort went in vain as he lost by 4-2 (13-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-3) against the Japanese paddler, who is a team bronze medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Following defeats for Manika Batra, Diya Chitale, and Manav Thakkar, India’s singles campaign at the World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2025 came to a bitter end.

Diya Chitale and Yashaswini Ghorpade, ranked 16th, will return to action and compete against the world No.6 Japanese pair of Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara in the women’s doubles round of 16 match on Wednesday. (ANI)