On Monday, Team India made history by reaching the quarterfinals of the women’s table tennis team competition at the Paris Olympics for the first time ever. In a thrilling match, India narrowly defeated Romania 3-2.
The match, held at the South Paris Arena, saw India take an early 2-0 lead with Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath winning their first two matches by scores of 3-0 each. However, Romania mounted a strong comeback in the singles matches, with Sreeja Akula losing 3-2 and Archana Kamath falling 3-1, leveling the score at 2-2.
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In the decisive final match, Manika Batra clinched the victory for India by defeating Adina Diaconu 3-0.
India will now face either the USA or Germany in the women’s table tennis quarterfinals. The Paris Olympics 2024, running from July 26 to August 11, marks the first time India has qualified for both men’s and women’s table tennis team events at the Olympics. The men’s and women’s team events were introduced in the Olympic program at Beijing 2008.
While Indian paddlers did not secure any medals in the singles events, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula made history by reaching the Round of 16, becoming the first Indian table tennis players to achieve this feat.
(INPUTS FROM ANI)
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