India pulled off their biggest upset of the Games so far when the women’s table tennis team beat four-times defending champions Singapore 3-1 in the final to clinch the gold medal. Since the introduction of the sport in the game since 2002, Singapore had not lost a single women’s team final.
Batra was assertive in her game against Tianwei Feng, never allowing the world number four from Singapore to settle. It was Batra’s biggest win of her career till date against a very strong opponent.
(Read more: Follow all the updates on an action-packed day four for India here.)
She raced into the lead, winning the first game 11-8, rattling off the last three points. Feng would show her class, winning the next two 11-8, 11-7. Staring down the barrel of a defeat at 4-6 in the fourth, Batra would storm back to take the game to a decider, winning 11-9, once again nicking the last three points.
The upset would be complete in the fifth and final game, as Batra played a patient game to force Feng into making many unforced errors, taking the match 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-7.
Madhurika Patkar couldn’t keep India’s momentum going as she lost 11-13, 2-11, 6-11 to Mengyu Yu. Yu dominated the match, especially the second game where she won nine points in a row to put the game beyond Patkar’s reach.
Mouma Das entered the fray next, teaming up with Patkar to take on the pairing of Yu and Yihan Zhou. They finished the match in four games, winning 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7.
It was Batra once again, who was entrusted with finishing the job and so she did against Zhou. Stepping up to the plate, the world number 58 didn’t give up an inch against her opponent, winning 11-7, 11-4, 11-7.
England swept aside in the semis
Earlier, India had stormed into the finals on the back of a convincing 3-0 win over the English. Manika Batra lost the first game to Kelly Sibley but bounced back strongly to close the match 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7.
Next, Madhurika Patkar also got the job done in four games as she beat Tin-Tin Ho 11-7, 13-11, 10-12, 11-8 as she gave the Indians a 2-0 lead in the tie. The pairing of Mouma Das and Patkar won their match easily in four games.
Maria Tsaptsinos and Sibley lost in four games as Das-Patkar won 11-7, 8-11, 11-7, 11-1 to give India an unassailable 3-0 lead.
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