Indian paddler Manika Batra staged an impressive comeback to enter the third round of the women’s singles event at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Sunday. India’s brightest medal prospect stunned World No.32 Margaryta Pesotska in round 2 to advance to the next phase of the women’s singles event. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and legendary opener Virender Sehwag hailed paddler Manika after her stunning 4-3 win over Ukraine’s Pesotska at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym. 

Praising Manika for her outstanding comeback, former Team India captain Sehwag highlighted that the Indian paddler is just one step away from extending India’s medal tally at the Summer Games. Master Blaster Tendulkar revealed that he watched every single point earned by Batra in her come from behind win over Pesotska. “She moved from Plan A to Plan B very smartly & got her opponent to play more forehands & the moment the rallies got longer, the Ukrainian was playing to her plan,” Tendulkar said in one of his tweets.

Master Blaster congratulated Manika for defeating her opponent with ‘superb game planning’. “Her situational awareness was just tremendous,” Tendulkar added. Celebrated wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and veteran Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh also lauded Manikra for registering a memorable win at the Summer Games. Here’s how the sports fraternity congratulated Manika on social media. 

Talking about the match, Batra outclassed Pesotska 4-3 in Round 2 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym to advance to the third round of the women’s singles tournament at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Pesotska won the first two games of the contest before Manika bounced back by clinching the tie 4-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7. Her match with the World No. 32 lasted 57 minutes. After a remarkable win over Pesotska, the Indian paddler will next face Austria’s Sofia Polcanova on Monday which will be her round of 16 match in the women’s singles competition.