All posts tagged: india table tennis team

“Exclusion from the Asian Games 2026 squad is disheartening”: Manika Batra

“Exclusion from the Asian Games 2026 squad is disheartening”: Manika Batra

Published by Webster

India’s leading table tennis player Manika Batra has questioned the process behind her exclusion from the main squad for the 2026 Asian Games, calling for greater transparency and consistency in the application of selection criteria. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) on Thursday named Manika among the reserve players for the continental showpiece despite her being India’s second-highest ranked women’s singles player in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings. In a detailed statement issued after the squad announcement, Manika expressed disappointment over both the decision and the manner in which it was reached. “My exclusion from the Asian Games 2026 squad is deeply disheartening, not only because of the outcome, but because of the manner in which the selection criteria appear to have been interpreted and applied. No specific reason has been communicated to me,” she said. The former Commonwealth Games champion also appealed to the Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association to review the matter. “I respectfully request the Hon’ble Sports Minister and the leadership of the Indian Olympic Association …

Manika Batra left out of India’s Asian Games Table Tennis main squad, Ayhika Mukherjee misses out

Manika Batra left out of India’s Asian Games Table Tennis main squad, Ayhika Mukherjee misses out

Published by Webster

India’s most decorated women’s table tennis player, Manika Batra, has been left out of the main squad for the 2026 Asian Games after failing to satisfy the selection criteria laid down by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI). The 30-year-old, who won a historic mixed doubles bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games and has multiple Commonwealth Games medals to her name, was named among the reserve players for the continental event scheduled in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4. According to TTFI, selections were made based on a policy introduced in 2023, which allocates 50 per cent weightage to national rankings, 40 per cent to world rankings and the remaining 10 per cent to the discretion of the selection committee. Despite being India’s second-highest ranked women’s player at World No. 51, behind Sreeja Akula at No. 45, Manika’s absence from domestic tournaments meant she did not feature prominently in the national rankings, affecting her overall selection score. Sreeja Akula to lead Women’s Squad Sreeja Akula headlines the women’s squad, which also …

ITTF World Team Table Tennis C’ships: Manika Batra, Manav lead India’s charge

ITTF World Team Table Tennis C’ships: Manika Batra, Manav lead India’s charge

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India’s top table tennis stars, led by Olympians Manika Batra, G Sathiyan, Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai, will take centre stage at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships 2026, beginning April 28 in London. Set to be held at the iconic OVO Arena Wembley, the tournament brings together 64 teams each in the men’s and women’s competitions, making it one of the most competitive global team events in the sport. The championships feature two prestigious trophies, the Swaythling Cup (men) and the Corbillon Cup (women). Each tie consists of up to five singles matches, with the first team to win three matches progressing, placing equal importance on squad depth and consistency. India’s challenge India enters the tournament through Stage 1b, a tougher route compared to the top-seeded teams placed directly in Stage 1a. The men’s team, led by world No. 38 Manav Thakkar, have been drawn in Group 7 alongside Slovakia, Tunisia and Guatemala. On paper, it’s a manageable group, but the margin for error remains minimal given the qualification rules. The women’s team, …

Asian TT Championship: How Indian men beat Kazakhstan for bronze; still in mix to reach final | Sport-others News

Asian TT Championship: How Indian men beat Kazakhstan for bronze; still in mix to reach final | Sport-others News

Published by Webster

With a dominating 3-1 quarterfinals win over hosts Kazakhstan, the Indian men’s table tennis team confirmed a medal at the Asian TT Championships on Wednesday. It will be the third time they medal at the event, after winning bronze in 2021 (Doha) and 2023 (Pyeongchang). India will now play the winners of the quarterfinal between Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong for a spot in the final. It was a commanding win for the third seeds, with the youngest player, 24-year-old Manav Thakkar, giving them the perfect start with a straight-game (11,9,11-7, 11-6) win over World No. 46 Kirill Gerassimenko, who had earlier reached the Round-of-16 at the Paris Olympics. The youngster from Surat, who won the season’s first national-ranking tournament last month, was at his attacking best and gave his opponent absolutely no chance to come back into the match. His forehand attack across the table was sublime and he varied the pace brilliantly too. Paris: Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Sharath Kamal of India react during the Men Team Round of 16 Match between …

Indian TT contingent to have national training camp at WTT Smash event in China | Sport-others News

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At the last World Table Tennis (WTT) Smash event which was held in Saudi in May, out of the 12 Indians that participated, only a couple of them– Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal – waited till the first day of the main draw. Those who lost during the qualification rounds of international TT’s high-profile circuit events had to pack their bags and leave the following day. If the upcoming China Smash is a precursor, Indian players may end up waiting back at major events, irrespective of winning or losing. To have more national camps, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is trying to work around the exhaustive WTT calendar by having national camps at major international events. With all WTT events being in a knockout format, players sometimes travel halfway around the world and if they lose their opening qualification match, they have no option but to return home or travel to their next destination. The China Smash begins on September 26 and runs till October 6 while the Asian Championships begin on October …

India table tennis teams make history, qualify for Paris Olympics | Sport-others News

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Despite losing their pre-quarterfinal matches at the ITTF World Table Tennis Team Championships in Busan on Wednesday, both the Indian men’s and women’s teams will qualify for the Olympics for the first time ever by taking the last world ranking spot It’s the first time that India will qualify for the team event of an Olympics since the event was included at the Beijing 2008 Games. While the official list of team rankings will come out on March 4, as per calculations, both teams have made the cut for Paris. “The men’s and the women’s teams played very well and we’re proud of them. We’re waiting for the official announcement that we have qualified for the Paris Olympics, which will come on the 5th of March,” Kamlesh Mehta, Table Tennis Federation of India general secretary, said. The men’s team, led by 10-time national champion Sharath Kamal, were blanked 3-0 by a much better team in hosts Korea. The women put up a brave fight but lost 1-3 to the higher-ranked Chinese Taipei, which had the …