Sports

Two months before the Olympics in Paris, Manika Batra surprised everyone by winning the Saudi Smash in Jeddah on Monday. For the first time in her career, she defeated Chinese World No. 2 Wang Manyu 3-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10) after suffering five straight defeats to the best opponent, including at the World and Asian Games. There was more good news in store, following other paddlers' jaw-dropping victories at the Asian Games and on the circuit where Indians are frequently taking major scalps. To advance to the pre-quarterfinals, Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade, paired in mixed doubles, defeated Alvaro Robles and Maria Xiao, ranked fifth, 11-5, 5-11, 3-11, 11-7, and 11-7. However, Manika's