Manika Batra, a top-ranked Indian player in table tennis, was defeated by Bernadette Szocs of Romania in the pre-quarterfinals of the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana in Ljubljana (Slovenia).
Manika, who had earlier surprised world number 15 Chen I-ching, lost 4-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11 to the 17th ranked opponent in a round of 16 contest on Friday night.
The Indian, who is now ranked 36th in the world, is expected to move up the rankings after finishing in the pre-quarterfinals in Ljubljana.
Before this round, Manika defeated her opponent from Chinese Taipei, who was ranked 15, in a round of 32 matches in just 23 minutes.
Margaryta Pesotska of Ukraine was beaten by Manika in her opening round after five games.
Manika will take confidence from her previous performances as she prepares to lead the Indian squad in the next Asian Games in Hangzhou as well as the Asian Championships in Pyeongchang, Korea.
Manika will be competing in women’s singles and mixed doubles at the Asian Games, since she chose to give up on women’s doubles.
Manika will team up with G Sathiyan and seek to bring another historic medal after earning bronze with Achanta Sharath Kamal at the 2018 Asian Games.