Manika Batra-Sharath Kamal pair ousted in table tennis mixed doubles Round of 16 Tokyo 2020

Manika Batra & Sharath Kamal have been knocked out from the mixed doubles Tokyo Olympics 2020 after losing to Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei. Medal hopes were dashed after they lost their Tokyo Olympics 2020 mixed doubles table tennis clash. The duo lost their first match in the Round of 16 on Saturday.

Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal looked toothless against the 3rd-seeded pairing who won the Round of 16 matches without breaking a sweat. The India duo went down 0-4 -- 8-11, 6-11, 5-11, 4-11 in just 27 minutes at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym Table. Lin Yun Ju, the 19-year-old, is a big name and is being closely watched by oppositions, showed his class as he was hitting the winners at will. His speed was something that the Indian duo was unable to counter.

Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching excelled in returning most of the shots played by Batra and Kamal to bring curtains down on their campaign. While the duo's Tokyo Olympics 2020 campaign has come to an abrupt end, Manika Batra has another chance to revive her medal hopes as she will be participating in the women's singles category later on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Sharath Kamal will next be seen in action in Round 2 of the men's singles on Monday. The veteran table tennis player would be hoping for a podium finish as this might be his last hurrah at the quadrennial event but, it remains to be seen whether the 39-year-old will defy age and qualify for the next edition of the Olympics. Manika Batra on the other hand will be up against Great Britain's Tin-Tin Ho on Saturday.