Manika, Sutirtha advance; Sharath loses in World Singles Qualification

Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee won their first round matches but Sharath Kamal lost in the second round of the World Singles Qualification Tournament, for the Tokyo Olympics, at Doha on Sunday.

Manika defeated Bulgaria’s Maira Yovkova 11-5, 11-7, 11-4, 11-0 to set up a clash with Uzbekistan’s Rimma Gufranova, while Sutirtha got past Belgium’s Lisa Lung 11-3, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 and will meet Russia's Polina Mikhailova in the second round.

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Second seed Sharath, who gained a first-round bye, could not find a way past Italy’s Niagol Staynov as he lost 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4, 8-11, 12-10.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who also received a first-round bye, will face another Italian Mihai Bobocica.