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Indian Table Tennis Star Manika Batra’s Father Dies Due To Cardiac Arrest

admin — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:45:40 +0000

File photo of Manika Batra

Commonwealth Games gold medallist table tennis player Manika Batra’s father Girish has died due to cardiac arrest. Manika’s father passed away here on Tuesday and his cremation was performed on the same day at Inderpuri. The prayer ceremony for the departed soul will be held on Thursday.

The 29-year-old Manika is India’s top women’s singles player. She won a gold medal each in the women’s singles and women’s team event in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She also won a women’s doubles silver and mixed doubles bronze in the same CWG.

In the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, she won a mixed doubles bronze medal.

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Manika Batra Advances To Pre-Quarters In WTT Champions Montpellier

admin — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 18:41:56 +0000

File photo of Manika Batra.© AFP

India’s table tennis star Manika Batra produced a dominant performance to defeat America’s Lily Zhang 3-0 to advance into the women’s singles pre-quarterfinals of the WTT Champions at Montpellier in France on Wednesday. Manika, who made history in Paris Olympics to become the first-ever Indian to reach the singles pre-quarterfinals, took less than 22 minutes to cruise to a 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 victory. The four-time Olympian Zhang, who also had a pre-quarterfinal finish in Paris, fought hard to come back in the third game but Manika’s consistency and precision saw her through.

The Indian won a total of 34 points, compared to Zhang’s 22 and she was especially strong on her opponent’s serve, winning 14 points off the Chinese-American.

Manika will face the winner of eighth seeded Romanian Bernadette Szocs and Orawan Paranang of Thailand.

Sreeja Akula is the second Indian in the main draw and she will take on Pan American champion Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico later in the day.

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Olympics 2024: Indian Men’s Table Tennis Team To Face China In Opener, Manika Batra To Play Teenager

admin — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:24:20 +0000

Indian men’s table tennis team is set to face a formidable challenge as they compete against four-time gold medalists China in the opening round of the Paris Olympics. The women’s team, meanwhile, will face Romania in the round of 16. They could face, the Rio 2016 silver medallists Germany, in the second round. Notably, India have qualified for team events in table tennis for the first time. On the other hand, China have won the gold medal in the men’s event at all the editions, since the introduction of team events at the Olympics in 2008.

In the singles women’s singles event, star paddler Manika Batra, who is seeded 18, will begin her campaign against Anna Hursey, teenager from Great Britain.

Manika, who is competing in her third Olympics after making her debut in Rio 2016, made it to the third round at Tokyo 2020 in women’s singles. Hursey, on the other hand, will be making her Olympic debut.

Another Indian, Sreeja Akula was seeded 16, and will take on Sweden’s Christina Kallberg in her round-of-64 match.

In men’s singles, veteran Sharath Kamal, who will mark his record fifth Olympic appearance, will face 27-year-old Deni Kozul of Slovenia in the opening round.

Harmeet Desai, meanwhile, will start his campaign in the preliminary round. Desai will face Zaid Abo Yaman of Jordan on July 27.

The preliminary round in men’s and women’s singles will include three matches each. The winners of the preliminary round will qualify for the round of 64.

Harmeet will face world no. 5 Frenchman Felix Lebrun if he wins the preliminary round.

Table tennis competitions at Paris Olympics will take place between July 27 to August 10.

All five competitions – men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, men’s team and women’s team will be played at the South Paris Arena.

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WTT Saudi Smash: Manika Batra Knocked Out In Quarter-Finals

admin — Thu, 09 May 2024 14:46:45 +0000

The brilliant campaign of top Indian woman paddler Manika Batra at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Saudi Smash came to an end after she lost to World No.5 Hina Hayata of Japan in the quarterfinals, on Thursday. Japan’s Hayata beat World No.39 Manika 4-1 (7-11, 11-6, 11-4, 13-11, 11-2) in 39 minutes to reach the semifinals.

The 28-year-old Indian had started her campaign in Saudi Smash with a 3-0 (11-6, 13-11, 11-8) win over Andreea Dragoman of Spain in the first round.

In the round of 32 Manika came back after losing the first game to win the next three to stun the top Chinese player and Olympic medallist World No. 2, Wang Manyu and won the match 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 in 38 minutes.

Manika is expected to regain her status as the top-ranked Indian female in the ITTF World Rankings after a successful run in Jeddah.

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Manika Batra Slays World No.14 To Reach Quarterfinal At WTT Grand Smash Event

admin — Thu, 09 May 2024 10:25:29 +0000

Manika Batra in action© X (formerly Twitter)

Manika Batra has become the first Indian woman table tennis player to enter the quarterfinals of an elite WTT event following her victory over world number 14 Nina Mittelham at the Grand Smash event. After stunning world number two Wang Manyu in the second round, Batra extended her red hot form in Saudi Arabia with a 11-6 11-9 11-7 win over her German rival in just 22 minutes on Wednesday. It was Batra’s first win over Mittelham in four attempts and now she will face another formidable rival in world number five Hina Hayata of Japan on Thursday evening. The Indian will be backing herself to put it past Hayata as she had upset the Japanese to win a historic bronze in the Asia Cup back in 2022.

“I’m feeling really proud with myself that I played my best game today after beating Wang Manyu. That match was really important to me and I was happy and excited so I had to keep myself calm for this match,” said the 28-year-old Batra.

“Everything is going right here. Everything in my room, in my practice session, in my match; so I think I love this country! This is my first quarterfinals in a Smash so I’m really thankful to everyone that was there to cheer and my practice partner for coaching me and my coach in India,” she added.

Batra, who is currently ranked 39, is set to break into the top-25 following a memorable week here.

Batra had shocked China’s Wang on Monday after getting past Romania’s Andreea Dragoman in the first round, her first win at a Grand Smash event.

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Manika Batra Stuns World No.2 From China To Enter Saudi Smash Pre-Quarters

admin — Mon, 06 May 2024 18:24:49 +0000

Indian table tennis star Manika Batra shocked World No. 2 Wang Manyu of China to secure the biggest win of her singles career and enter the pre-quarterfinals of the Saudi Smash on Monday. Manika, ranked 39, beat the second-seeded Chinese 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10 in just 37 minutes. Though Manika lost the opening game against the Tokyo Olympics team gold medallist and 2021 World Champion, she fought back well to take the next two games quickly. The 25-year-old from China kept herself in the match until Manika, without giving her another opportunity, claimed the last two points to seal a famous win.

The unseeded Manika, who accounted for Andreea Dragoman of Romania on Sunday, clashes with 14th ranked Nina Mittelham of Germany, in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old from India had lost 0-4 to Wang Manyu in the World Cup last month. Though Manika has beaten top-10 players in the past, the win over Wang Manyu takes the cake.

“It is the biggest achievement of my singles career. I am really really happy that I won against her. I have been working hard in in my training sessions with my coach Aman Balgu and my trainers.

“You have to got to keep on working hard (to achieve something like this). Thank you all for believing in me. I will keep this fighting spirit for my next match,” she said after the match.

In mixed doubles, Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade surprised the Spanish fifth-seeded pair of Alvaro Robles and Maria Xiao 3-2 (11-5, 5-11, 3-11, 11-7,11-7) to storm into the quarterfinals.

In the pre-quarters, the Indian duo had beaten the Chilean pair of Nicolas Burgos and Paulina Vega 3-2 (11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 4-11, 11-5).

Asian Games bronze medallists Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee ended a successful day in Jeddah when the pair defeated Mariam and Marwa Alhodaby 3-0 (11-7, 1-3, 11-4) to enter the pre-quarters.

The Asian Games bronze medallists Ayhika and Sutirtha Mukherjee ended a successful day in Jeddah when the pair defeated Mariam and Marwa Alhodaby 3-0 (11-7, 1-3, 11-4) to enter the pre-quarters.

However, Sreeja Akula, who upstaged Manika in the world ranking to occupy the No. 38 position, lost 7-11, 11-3, 11-9, 12-14 to Jieni Saho after leading the Portuguese in two games.

Earlier other Indians went down with good fights in singles including A. Sharath Kamal, Archana Kamath, Manav Thakkar and Sutirtha Mukherjee.

Sharath, who met Aruna Qadri of Nigeria in the round of 64, lost after a gutsy performance after leading 2-0. Qadri beat Sharath 8-11, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5, 13-11.

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