The Indian women’s team’s campaign at the World Table Tennis Team Championship ended in the Round of 16, after the Manika Batra-led squad lost 3-0 to world No 7 team Chinese Taipei in Chengdu, China, on Wednesday.
The Indians reached the knockout round of the competition after finishing second in Group 5 – that included table-toppers Germany, third-placed Czech Republic and last-placed Egypt.
Batra started the tie against world No 22 Chen Szu-Yu, who came up with a 11-7, 11-9, 11-3 win over the Indian.
Cheng I-Ching then made it 2-0 for Chinese Taipei after a 3-1 (11-8, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9) win over Sreeja Akula.
In the third match, 19-year-old Diya Chitale put up a tough fight against Liu Hsing-Yin, coming from behind to lead 2-1. But eventually, Liu fought back to win the match 11-6, 9-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 and secure a spot in the quarterfinal for Chinese Taipei.
On Thursday, the Indian men’s team will compete against top seeds China for a spot in the quarterfinal.
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