India's national champion Sreeja stunned World No. 21 Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei to reach the pre-quarterfinals. After being down 3-1, Sreeja rallied from behind, brought the best game from her kitty to overcome the seasoned campaigner and register the biggest upset of the tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Joining her to the next stage was Manika, who coasted to an easy 4-0 win over her Hong Kong opponent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Three other Indian women paddlers Diya Chitale, Reeth Tennison, and Swastika Ghosh didn't have a great day in the singles category as they crashed out of the tournament which is serving as a qualifying stage for the World Championships.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The wins kept Manika and Sreeja's hopes alive of making it to the Worlds to be held in Durban, South Africa in May 2023.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sreeja, ranked 72 on the ITTF World Ranking computer, overcame a 3-1 deficit to register her biggest career win till winning it 4-3 (11-2, 5-11, 2-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8) in a match which lasted for 52 minutes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad city started off on an impressive note winning the first game but then flattered as her opponent won the next three to take a runaway 3-1 lead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sreeja, however, made a remarkable recovery to win the fifth, sixth and deciding game in the seven-game encounter much to the delight of the small but vociferous supporters in the stands. She now will take on Miyu Nagasaki of Japan, who got a walkover over Chinese Taipei's Cheng I-Ching.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On the other hand, India's top ranked player and World No.35, Manika got the better of Zhu Chengzhu in straight games 4-0 (13-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-8) and move into the round of 16 where she will clash with Suthasini Sawettabut of Thailand who got the better of Jingyi Zhou of Singapore 4-1 (11-2, 4-11, 11-6,11-4, 11-7).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Three other Indian women paddlers fell out in the round of 32 with Diya, Reeth and Swastika crashing out after losing to Japanese and Korean opponents.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Diya went down 1-4 (11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3) to Miu Hirano of Japan, while Reeth lost in straight games 0-4 (11-7, 11-5, 11-4, 11-3) to HIna Hayata of Japan. Swastika went down to Jihee Jeon of Korea also in straight games 0-4 (11-8, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the men's singles round of 32 matches, Manush Utpal Shah and Harmeet Desai lost their respective matches and crashed out. Harmeet lost in straight games 0-4 (11-6, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7) to Zhendong Fan of China and Manush went down also in straight games 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5) to Jonghoon Lim of Korea.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Achanta Sarath Kamal will take on Amin Ahmadian of Iran, later in the day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the men's singles round of 32 matches, Manush Utpal Shah and Harmeet Desai lost their respective matches and crashed out. Harmeet lost in straight games 0-4 (11-6, 11-8, 11-6, 11-7) to Zhendong Fan of China and Manush went down also in straight games 4-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5) to Jonghoon Lim of Korea.<\/p>\r\n\r\n