Paris: Manika Batra began her match on Wednesday with a service error followed by a quick smirk. Almost two hours later when she turned up to speak to the waiting media, she was still teary-eyed.

Having made history as the first Indian table tennis player to advance to the singles pre-quarterfinals of the Olympics, Manika was stopped at that. The 28th-ranked Indian went down to world No. 13 Miu Hirano of Japan 1-4 (6-11, 9-11, 14-12, 8-11, 6-11) at the South Paris Arena.

The contest of what-ifs for Manika left a rather sour aftertaste. What if her forehand, the weapon that at most times provides a peak into her confidence and rhythm in a particular match, had not deserted her on many of the crucial points. What if she had maintained the lead she had managed to open up in the first three games. What if she had not let her mind drift too far ahead in those moments which allowed Hirano to come clawing back.

“That really hurts,” Manika said, the pain (and tears) on her face still visible. “I had to stay calm at that moment (when I was leading). I was trying to win, win, win, win, and in that, I lost that calmness.”

Manika was ahead 3-1, 5-1 and 4-1 in the opening three games, ending up losing the first two. Hirano played “clever”, said Manika who has faced the Japanese before, and began targetting her forehand which she realised was leaking errors. And crucial junctures at that. At 9-9 in the second game, for instance. Or at 10-10 in the third game, when Manika slapped her thigh in frustration after another forehand did not land.

“In the beginning, she was playing more on my forehand from her backhand. And I don’t know why, but my forehand wasn’t going today,” Manika said.

Manika will allow herself to be sad for a day, before preparations for the team events take precedence. Joining her in the team will be India’s top-ranked Sreeja Akula who, earlier on Wednesday, followed Manika into the singles Round of 16 after a 4-2 win over Zeng Jian of Singapore.

One brought along two at these Games. That’s a sign of the women’s game, especially, making progress in terms of depth and talent in India. But doing that just once can’t be enough, reckoned Massimo Costantini who returned as the national coach a few months ago.

“Now, we’ve got the first 16, already made history. This should be regular. And when it’s regular, we can think quarter-final and semi-final. We have to get everyone in the team there,” the Italian said.

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