Table Tennis World Cup 2026: Indian challenge ends as Sreeja, Manav lose final group-stage fixtures

India’s contention at the Table Tennis World Cup in Macau ended on Wednesday with the Manav Thakkar and Sree Akula’s defeats in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

Thakkar lost 5-11, 11-3, 7-11, 5-11 to Sweden’s Truls Moregard in 20 minutes. This was his second loss in as many games. Thakkar had lost to Korea’s Ganghyeon Park on Tuesday.

In women’s singles, Sreeja went down to World No. 2 of China, Wang Manyu, in straight games, losing 8-11, 7-11, 3-11.

Manika Batra had an outside chance at qualifying for the Round of 16 from Group 4 but her hopes were ended as Japan’s Miwa Harimoto eased past Malaysia’s Lily Zhang 3-0. The World No. 49 was the only Indian to register a win at the tournament.

Published on Apr 01, 2026