Sharath and Manika outplayed in Tokyo Olympics opener

Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra lose to Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei in the mixed doubles round of 16

India's glimmer of hope for a table tennis medal at the Tokyo Olympics vanished in no time with Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra losing to third seeds Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei in the mixed doubles round of 16 on July 24. The Indians had to make all chances count against a superior opponent but they couldn't do so after leading 5-1 and 5-3 in the first two games. In the end, it was a comfortable 11-8 11-6 11-5 11-4 win for the Chinese Taipei pairing. The power of 19-year-old Lin from both the flanks was too much to handle for the 12th seeded pairing of Sharath and Manika, who came into the Olympics having won the qualifying competition.