Manika and Harmeet exit in TT Nationals

Shillong: Top seed Manika Batra made a shock exit in the pre-quarterfinals while old warhorse Mouma Das advanced to the last-eight stage of the women's singles in the Senior National and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships here on Sunday.

Manika lost to Ayhika Mukherjee 3-4 (11-7, 8-11, 4-11, 11-9, 5-11, 13-11, 3-11) to make a premature exit from the tournament. Ayhika made most of the chances that came her way to outsmart her famed opponent. On the other hand, five-time national champion Mouma defeated second seed Diya Chitale 4-3 to enter women's singles quarterfinals.

Picking up a racquet after a three-year hiatus, the 38-year-old Mouma made a remarkable recovery from 0-3 deficit to beat her teenage opponent.

Trailing 0-3, Mouma took the last four games. She won the fourth game on deuce and that provided her with the impetus to fight back and close out her 18-year-old rival.

The day also saw some of the men's seeds fall by the wayside, including fourth-seed

Harmeet Desai.