India's historic singles table tennis journey at the Paris Olympics came to an end as Manika Batra suffered a defeat against higher-ranked Japanese Miu Hirano, and Sreeja Akula lost to world number one Yingshaw Sun on her birthday.
This marked the first time that India had two singles players competing for quarterfinal berths, showcasing the potential for improvement on the big stage in table tennis.
Both players had opportunities to win games against their superior rivals but struggled with consistency and finishing skills, eventually being eliminated.
Manika made history by becoming the first Indian to reach the pre-quarterfinals at the Olympic Games on Monday, while Sreeja, who celebrated her 26th birthday on Wednesday, also advanced to the Round of 16 with a 4-2 victory over Singapore's Jian Zeng.
Up against Miu, who has been in tremendous form, Manika lost 6-11 9-11 14-12 8-11 6-11, while later in the day Sreeja produced a valiant fight against Sun before losing 10-12 10-12 8-11 3-11 in her Round of 16.
Sreeja could have made her 26th birthday even more memorable had she taken her chances in the second game. She had five game points but lost six points in a row to concede the game, succumbing to the Chinese onslaught.
To her credit, Sreeja kept her superior rivals close in the first two games but could not cope with the Chinese's ferocious returns.
After taking the game from 6-10, the Chinese did not take long to close the match, even as Sreeja pulled off a few fantastic winners.
Indian players will now compete in the team events.
Manika enjoyed healthy leads in games two and three, but Miu switched gears easily to prevent the Indian from making more history.
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