By Armstrong Vaz
Doha, Jan 20 (IANS) India’s top-ranked women’s table tennis player Manika Batra went down fighting 1-3 against China’s Rui Zhang in the semifinals of the women’s singles at the WTT Contender here on Friday.
The 27-year-old paddler ranked 36th in the world, hampered by an injury, was far from her best and although she won the first game, she could not maintain the same momentum against World No. 24 Zhang who came full guns blazing to win the next three games in a match that lasted 18 minutes.
In the other semifinal, Siqi Fan beat fellow Chinese player Liu Weishan with a 3-1 scoreline to set up an all-Chinese final on Saturday.
In men’s singles, Korean Jang Woojin took his rightful spot in the final, beating compatriot Lin Shidong 3-0. He will take on Brazil’s Hugo Calderano in the final on Saturday.
In the second semifinal, Hugo beat China’s Peng Xiong 3-2 to book a place in Saturday’s final.
–IANS
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