Sreeja Akula (R) and Archana Girish Kamath of India play against Yuan Wan and Shan Xiaona of Germany in the Women’s Team Quarterfinal match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris, France, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
India bowed out of the women’s team event after losing 3-2 to a superior Germany in the quarterfinals of the Olympics at the South Paris Arena’s table tennis venue in Paris on Wednesday (August 7, 2024).
The 11th-ranked India, which qualified in the team event for the first time and creditably reached the last eight, could not match the Germans’ well-planned and controlled performance.
The doubles pair of Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath could not offer much resistance against Yuan Wan-Xiaona Shan in the first game. The two combined better to play some fine shots and benefitted from the Germans’ errors to make it 1-1.
The Indians led 9-6 in the third game when Wan hit it out, but Sreeja-Archana could not gather two more points and saw the Germans regain their lead.
The Germans’ superb cross court shots put them ahead and helped them seize initiative.
In the first singles encounter, 25th-ranked Manika Batra went 1-0 up as World No.100 Annett Kaufmann made some mistakes. But Annette bounced back to have six game points secure the next as Manika made several errors.
The 18-year-old German southpaw raised her game and played excellent shots to tame Manika in the next two.
Archana’s cool-headed approach under pressure and a win over 40th-ranked Shan kept India in the competition. As Shan spoiled three game points, the Indian showed her resolve to and employed her variation to claim the first game, lasting 15 minutes, 19-17.
Archana, ranked 123rd, lost momentum in the second game, but dominated again by getting engaged in some rallies and executing flat shots in the next two to bridge the gap.
Annette was too good for 22nd–ranked Sreeja, who had earlier had troubles handling a left-hander against Romania. The tiny Indian found Annette’s sharp shots from unpredictable angles difficult to handle and lost in 23 minutes.
On her loss to a lower-ranked player, Manika said, “Annette played better. I was getting confused. She played really well today. She was well prepared.”
“My aim was to reach the semis in both teams and singles. But it was a good run. It was my third Olympics. I’ve learned new things. It was a great experience with the team. We gave our best for our country,” said Manika.
The results: Germany bt India 3-1 (Yuan Wan-Xiaona Shan bt Sreeja Akula-Archana Kamath 11-5, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6; Annett Kaufmann bt Manika Batra 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5; Xiaona Shan lost to Archana Kamath 17-19, 11-1, 5-11, 9-11; Annett Kaufmann bt Sreeja Akula 11-6, 11-7, 11-7).
