Team Asia Triumphs with Waldner Cup Win in Oslo

Team Asia, featuring Indian paddler Manika Batra, won the Waldner Cup 2024 table tennis tournament by defeating Team World 14-10 in Oslo. The event was organized by Swedish Olympic gold medallist Jan-Ove Waldner. Players competed in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles over two days, with points determining the victor.

Team Asia, featuring prominent Indian paddler Manika Batra, emerged victorious in the inaugural edition of the Waldner Cup 2024 table tennis tournament, outplaying Team World 14-10 in Oslo, Norway. The invitational event, spanning the weekend, was established by Jan-Ove Waldner, a renowned Swedish Olympic gold medallist from the 1992 Barcelona Games.

The illustrious Team Asia included notable players such as six-time Olympic gold medallist Ma Long, Paris 2024 Olympic singles champion Chen Meng of China, two-time Olympic bronze medallist Shin Yubin from South Korea, Kazakhstan's Kirill Gerassimenko, and India's own Manika Batra, as reported by Olympics.com. The Waldner Cup spanned two days, with both male and female athletes competing in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, implementing a scoring system where one point was awarded per victory on the first day and two points on the subsequent day.

On the tournament's opening day, Manika Batra partnered with Shin Yubin but was defeated by Puerto Rican Adriana Diaz and Romania's Bernadette Szocs in a close 2-1 match. The following day, ranked world No. 25, Manika faced off against world No. 16 Adriana Diaz and lost 2-0. Team World was spearheaded by Sweden's Truls Moregardh, the Paris 2024 men's singles silver medallist, alongside Germany's Dimitrij Ovtcharov, a six-time Olympic medallist, and Brazil's Hugo Calderano.

Team World led with a 10-8 advantage on the second day, yet Team Asia staged an impressive comeback, seizing victory in the final three matches for a remarkable 14-10 win. The pivotal moment unfolded when Ma Long triumphed over Truls Moregardh in the tournament's concluding match. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)