India's star paddler Manika Batra enjoyed a historic 2022 and now reaps her reward, gaining three places on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) world rankings to reach a career-high 35 rank.
The 27-year-old became the first-ever Indian to bring home a medal at the 2022 Asian Cup in November when she stunned world number six Hina Hayata of Japan in their bronze medal clash to secure her spot on the podium in Bangkok.
It was a stunning campaign from Batra, as she also got the better of much higher ranked opponents during the tournament, beating world number seven Chen Xingtong of China in her first match and also conquering Chinese Taipei’s world No 23 Szu-Yu Chen in the quarterfinal.
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Her historic Asian Cup campaign 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.
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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.
(With Inputs from PTI)
First Published: Jan 3, 2023 5:39 PM IST
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