Manika Batra and Tarundeep Rai’s Journey Ends at Paris Olympics

India’s star paddler Manika Batra and archer Tarundeep Rai’s campaign in the ongoing Paris Olympics ended after they bowed out of their respective events on Wednesday.

Manika Batra’s Match

In the Round of 16 of the women’s singles event, Manika struggled to keep up with Japan’s Miu Hirano’s attacking intensity. The eighth seed, Miu Hirano, left little or no room for error throughout the first game, winning 11-6. Manika trailed by just a single point at one moment but Miu upped the ante and breezed past her.

In the second game, Miu relied on her attacking approach, and Manika replied with her defensive prowess. With the score level at 9-9, Manika failed to bag two consecutive points and ended up trailing by 2-0. In the third game, Manika had an upper hand as she raced to a 7-2 lead but Miu managed to claw back to 9-9. Manika held her composure and took away the game by 14-12.

With the scoreline reading 2-1, Manika found herself trailing by 6-2 in the fourth game. She recovered by claiming four consecutive points, but Miu sealed the fourth game 11-8. Miu’s attacking play turned out to be too much for Manika, and the Japanese moved into the quarter-finals with an 11-6 win.

Tarundeep Rai’s Match

Moments after Manika’s loss, India’s archer, Tarundeep Rai, was in action against Great Britain’s Tom Hall. The first set finished level, with both archers accumulating 27 points each. Tarundeep lost the second set after hitting three nines, while Hall hit a ten after pulling off two consecutive nines.

Tarundeep bounced back in the third set, finishing at 27, while Hall could only muster up 25, bringing the game to a parity of 3-3. Tarundeep went on to lose the next set and draw the fifth (6-4), ending his run in the event at the Paris Olympics.