Top-ranked Indian paddler G. Sathiyan was knocked out of the WTT Contender Muscat tournament, going down tamely to 16-year-old Lin Shidong of China in the men’s singles round of 32 match on Thursday.
However, two Indian pairs -- Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee, and Sreeja Akula and Selenadeepthi Selvakumar entered the medal round in women’s doubles.
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World No. 32 Sathiyan, who had earned a direct entry into the main draw, lost 8-11, 13-11, 2-11, 8-11 in a lop-sided contest.
In women’s doubles, Sutirtha and Ayhika got a walkover from the Czech pair of Zdena Blaskova and Katerina Tomanovsk, while Sreeja and Selenadeepthi defeated Singapore's Goi Rui Xuan and Won Xin Ru 13-11, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7.
In women’s singles, Manika Batra and Archana Kamath progressed to the round of 16, beating their rivals Lin Ye of Singapore and Mo Zhang of Canada, respectively.
Manika beat Lin 12-10, 11-8, 11-8 and will take on Romanian Bernadette Szocs, who is ranked No. 23 in the world, later in the day. Manika, ranked 49, has a distinct advantage over her opponent with a 3-2 win-loss record.
Archana, who dropped the second game after deuce, beat the Canadian 11-6, 10-12, 11-8, 11-9. She will be up against Mongolia’s Xiaoxin Yang in the pre-quarters.
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However, Sreeja Akula tasted defeat against Jia Nan Yuan of France 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 8-11 in a thriller.
In mixed doubles, Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath entered the quarterfinals after beating Abdullah Yigenler and Ozge Yilmaz of Turkey 11-9, 14-12, 11-2.
Sathiyan and Manika also advanced without breaking any sweat after the Russian pair of Kirill Skachkov and Olga Vorobeva was denied participation.
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