Oslo [Norway], December 16 : Team Asia, featuring star Indian paddler Manika Batra, clinched the inaugural edition of the Waldner Cup 2024 table tennis tournament, defeating Team World 14-10 in Oslo, Norway.
The invitational tournament, held over the weekend, was established by Jan-Ove Waldner, Sweden's 1992 Olympic gold medallist from the Barcelona Games.
Team Asia included six-time Olympic gold medallist Ma Long, Paris 2024 Olympic singles champion Chen Meng of China, two-time Olympic bronze medallist Shin Yubin of South Korea, Kazakhstan's Kirill Gerassimenko, and India's Manika Batra, according to Olympics.com.
The Waldner Cup was a two-day event featuring male and female players competing in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles matches. The scoring system awarded one point per win on the first day and two points per win on the second.
On the opening day, Manika Batra teamed up with Shin Yubin but lost to Puerto Rican Adriana Diaz and Romania's Bernadette Szocs, with a 2-1 scoreline. On the second day, world No. 25 Manika faced world No. 16 Adriana Diaz and lost 2-0.
Team World was led by Sweden's Paris 2024 men's singles silver medallist Truls Moregardh and Germany's six-time Olympic medallist Dimitrij Ovtcharov, with Brazil's Hugo Calderano completing the lineup.
Team World led 10-8 on the second day, but Team Asia staged a remarkable comeback, winning the final three matches to secure a 14-10 victory. The decisive moment came when Ma Long defeated Truls Moregardh in the tournament's final match.
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