India’s chances of securing a women’s team slot in this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo ended after 24th-ranked France handed out a 3-2 defeat in the first playoff match in the World Team Qualification Tournament here on Saturday.
India, ranked 23rd, was humbled mainly due to two stellar performances from 195th-ranked Marie Migot. In her first singles, she brought down 61st-ranked Manika Batra and then returned in the tie-decider to beat 121st-ranked Ayhika Mukherjee.
The results: Women Playoffs: France bt India 3-2 (Stephanie Loeuillette and Yuan Jian Nan lost to Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee 7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 4-11, 8-11; Marie Migot bt Manika Batra 11-7, 3-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-7; Yuan Jia Nan bt Sutirtha 11-7, 11-8, 11-6; Stephanie Loeuillette lost to Manika 7-11, 10-12, 4-11; Marie bt Ayhika 6-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9, 11-9).
