Manika Batra was eliminated after losing in the quarter finals

JEDDAH: Top Indian woman paddler Manika Batra’s brilliant campaign at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Saudi Smash came to an end after she lost to World No. 5 Hina Hayata of Japan in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Japan’s Hayata defeated world number-39 Manika 4-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 13-11, 11-2) in 39 minutes to reach the semi-finals. The 28-year-old Indian defeated Saudi She started her campaign with a 3–0 (11–6, 13–11, 11–8) win over Spain’s Andrea Dragoman in the first round. In the Round of 32, Manika bounced back after losing the first game and won the next three games to defeat top Chinese player and Olympic medalist World No. 2 Wang Manyu and win the match 6-11, 11-5, 11-7. 12-10 in 38 minutes. After the successful performance in Jeddah, Manika hopes to regain her status as the top-ranked Indian woman in the ITTF world rankings.