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Manika Batra’s journey ended in Tokyo Olympics, lost to Austrian player in third round
India’s star female table tennis player Manika Batra’s journey to Tokyo Olympics has come to an end. On Monday, Manika lost to Austrian player Sofia Polkanova in the third round. 63rd-ranked Manika could not win a single set against 16th-ranked Polkanova.
With the loss of Manika, the Indian challenge in women’s table tennis has also come to an end. People had high expectations from Indian female player Manika Batra and she also proved herself in the first and second rounds. But in the third round, Manika could not show her mettle and Sofia defeated her 4-0 (11-8, 11-2, 11-5 and 11-7).
Earlier in the day, India’s other player Sutirtha Mukherjee also suffered a second round defeat. In the second round, Surtitha was defeated by Portuguese player Fu Yu 3-11, 3-11, 5-11, 5-11 in straight sets.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.