New Delhi: Indian table tennis star Manika Batra achieved a new career high ranking of world No. 24 in the new ITTF rankings released. Manika jumped 15 places and moved from 39th to 24th position. Additionally, he regained his India number one position from Sreeja Akula.
In the process the 25-year-old paddler has become the first Indian woman to break into the top 25 singles rankings. He also equaled the World No. 24 ranking achieved by G Sathyan (currently World No. 65) in 2019, which is the highest rank achieved by an Indian in singles.
Manika’s rise in ranking came after reaching the quarterfinals of the Saudi Smash event last week, where she recorded an upset win over top Chinese player and Olympic medalist World No. 2 Wang Manyu in the Round of 32. She then defeated World No. 14 Nina Mittelheim of Germany to reach the quarter-finals, where Manika eventually lost to World No. 5 Hina Hayata of Japan. In the men’s singles rankings, veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal dropped three places to 40th and was the highest ranked.
