With a 4-3 victory over higher-ranked Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei, star paddler Manika Batra on Friday became the first Indian woman to advance to the semifinals of the Asian Cup Table Tennis competition.
In a fiercely contested women’s singles quarterfinal, world number 44 Manika defeated Chen, who was placed 23rd in the ITTF rankings, 6-11 11-6 11-5 11-7 8-11 9-11 11-9.
In a round of 16 match on Thursday, the Indian star stunned world No. 7 Chen Xingtong of China.
Manika will compete against the winner of the match between Mima Ito of Japan and Jeon Jihee of Korea in the semifinals.
