Indian women TT team's bid for Tokyo Olympics berth ends

Indian women table tennis team's quest for a Tokyo Olympics berth ended on Saturday after losing to France 2-3 in a play-off match of the qualification tournament here.

The Indian women's team had lost to Romania 2-3 in a pre-quarterfinal match on Friday.

Ranked 23rd just a place above France, the Indian team took the lead through Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukehrjee in the opening match, beating Stephanie Loeuillette and Yuan Jian Nan 11-7, 6-11, 10-12, 11-4, 11-8.

Though Manika Batra, ranked 61st, lost her opening singles 7-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-3, 7-11 to Marie Migot, ranked 195th, she was able to put India back in the reckoning when she won 11-7, 12-10, 11-4 against Stephanie Loeuillette in the second singles.

But the euphoria lasted just a couple of games as Ayhika, playing the last match of the tie against Marie, led 2-1 but her French opponent pulled level before winning the decider to sending India packing. Ayhika lost 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 9-11, 9-11.

With just two singles ...