Manika Batra reaches career high 35 in ITTF world rankings

Manika produced a special performance to win India’s first-ever medal at the Asian Cup in November.

FILE PHOTO: Manika Batra in action against D. Pranitha during the women’s singles second round table tennis match at the 36th National Games, at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Indoor Stadium in Surat, Gujarat on September 22, 2022. | Photo Credit: A.M. Faruqui

Indian table tennis star Manika Batra on Tuesday gained three places to reach a career-high 35 in the ITTF world rankings.

The 27-year-old had produced a special performance to win India’s first ever medal at the Asian Cup in November. She had stunned world number five Hina Hayata of Japan and world number seven Chen Xingtong of China on way to securing a historic bronze in Bangkok.

That effort fetched her 175 points in the rankings, contributing to her rise. She had also reached the semifinals of two WTT Contender events in Hungary and Slovenia.

“The Asian Cup performance was surely among my best alongside the run at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. I enjoyed my game and was very confident,” Manika told PTI.

The Asian Cup medal came after she returned home empty handed from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Four years earlier in Gold Coast, she had pocketed four medals, including two gold in an unprecedented run.

She will be in action later this week at the Asian qualification event in Doha for the World Championships. She will also be in Doha for the WTT Contender later this month before featuring in the WTT Star Contender in Goa next month.

In the men’s rankings, G Sathiyan remained in 39th position while veteran Sharath Kamal slipped three spots to be 47th.