Manika Batra bows out in semifinals of Asian Cup TT
Bangkok(PTI): Star paddler Manika Batra's dream run in the Asian Cup Table Tennis tournament ended as she went down fighting against fourth seed Mima Ito of Japan here on Saturday. The unseeded Manika, who became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the continental tournament, lost 8-11 11-7 7-11 6-11 11-8 7-11 (2-4) to the world No.5 Japanese paddler.
World No. 44 Manika had earlier defeated world No. 23 Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei 4-3 in the quarterfinals at the Hua Mak Indoor Stadium.
Manika has already ensured the best finish by an Indian in the 39-year-old history of the Asian Cup after Achanta Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan had finished sixth in 2015 and 2019 respectively.
The ace Indian woman paddler had earlier shocked world No. 7 Chen Xingtong of China in a round of 16 match on Thursday.
The USD 200,000 event features the top 16 players in the men's and women's singles from the continent based on world rankings and qualifications.
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Siddaramaiah holds emergency meeting with top cops over Kotekar Cooperative Society robbery
Mangaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened an emergency meeting with senior police officials in Mangaluru following the robbery at the Kotekar Cooperative Society on K.C. Road, Talapady. He directed authorities to expedite the investigation and apprehend the culprits at the earliest.
The meeting took place after a Medical Education Department program and was attended by Western Zone IG Amit, Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal, SP Yatish, and DySP.
Seeking a detailed briefing on the incident, Siddaramaiah questioned the officials about how the robbers managed to escape so easily, how many toll gates they crossed, and the lack of security at these checkpoints.
The officials however, conveyed that there was no security officer at the Society’s office at the time of the robbery and only five or six staff members were present at the time of the heist.
Police officials informed the Chief Minister that the suspects were recorded speaking in Kannada and Hindi. Siddaramaiah instructed the authorities to enforce strict checks at all toll gates, impose blockades across four districts borders, and ensure the arrest of the accused for strict legal action.
