Indian paddler Manika Batra bagged one of the biggest victories of her career. She defeated Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong 5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9 in a thrilling contest at the WTT Champions Frankfurt 2023. With this, the Indian registered her first-ever win on the WTT Champions stage and advanced to the pre-quarterfinal.
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Before this match, Manika Batra never went past the Round of 32 in her three previous appearances at WTT Champions event. Against Doo Hoi Kem, it looked the Indian will face a similar fate in the contest.
Doo Hoi Kem won the first game comfortably 5-11. In the second game, the Indian made a comeback. She took an early 4-0 lead and dominated the proceedings to level the contest by bagging the second game 11-5.
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In the third game too the Indian dominated with a 6-1 lead. However momentum shifted in favour of Doo Hoi Kem soon as she went on to level the scores 7-7 and won the game to take lead in the contest.
In a do-or-die game, Manika Batra clawed her way back in the contest. She began to find rhythm and caused trouble to her opponent by varying the spin and speed to perfection using her rubber. She won the game comfortably, forcing a decider.
Batra was leading 4-0 early in the fifth game. However Doo Hoi Kem came back in the contest. In a neck-to-neck battle that followed, Batra however managed to stay ahead and was trailing just by a solitary point at 10-9. She went on to clinch the contest in her second match point opportunity to enter the pre-quarterfinal.
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