All posts tagged: Manika

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

Published by Webster

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, …

Manav Thakkar, Manika Batra off to disappointing start

Manav Thakkar, Manika Batra off to disappointing start

Published by Webster

Indian table tennis players including manav Thakkar and Manika Batra started their ITTF World Cup 2026 on a disappointing note, losing their respective opening group matches in Macao on Monday. In men’s singles, Manav Thakkar lost to Park Gang-hyeon of the Republic of Korea in straight sets 0-3 (7-11, 6-11, 8-11). The world no 33 will now take on world No. 2 and Olympic silver medallist Truls Möregårdh of Sweden in the final group game. Asian Games medallist Manav is the sole Indian representative in the men’s game. 🚨#news l Manika and Manav lose their opening group stage match at the ITTF World Cup 2026🏆 🇮🇳 Manika Batra lost 3-0 (18-16, 11-4, 11-6) to Japan’s Miwa Harimoto 🇯🇵 While 🇮🇳 Manav Thakkar, went down 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-8) to Korea’s Park Gang-hyeon 🇰🇷 Only the top 16 group… pic.twitter.com/0WItamFWkI — The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) March 30, 2026 Meanwhile, Manika Batra lost to a higher-ranked Miwa Harimoto of Japan 3-0 (16-18, 4-11, 6-11). The world no 47 Indian will be up against Olympian Lily Zhang, ranked 42nd, …

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

Manika Batra, Manav Thakkar lead India’s challenge – Preview

Published by Webster

India’s top paddlers, led by Manika Batra and Manav Thakkar, are set to take on the world’s best as the ITTF World Cup 2026 begins on March 30 in Macao, China. With 96 players competing across men’s and women’s singles events, the tournament promises high-quality action, and India will be represented by three players: Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula in the women’s draw, and Manav Thakkar in the men’s competition. Tough Group Stage draws for Indian players The tournament begins with a round-robin group stage, where 48 players in each draw are split into 16 groups of three. Only the group winners progress to the knockout stage. Manika Batra finds herself in a challenging Group 4 alongside World No. 5, Miwa Harimoto (Japan), and World No. 42 Lily Zhang (USA). Ranked 47th, Batra will need a strong showing to break through. Sreeja Akula, placed in Group 2, faces an even tougher test with World No. 2 Wang Manyu (China) and Fu Yu (Portugal). Meanwhile, in the men’s draw, Manav Thakkar is grouped with World No. …

Manav Thakkar, Manika Batra off to disappointing start

Indian campaign ends as Manika Batra exits in R16

Published by Webster

India’s star paddler Manika Batra’s solid run ended in the pre-quarterfinal of the 2026 WTT Star Contender Doha, losing to Macao’s Zhu Yuling in Qatar on Saturday. Manika, the only Indian to qualify for the round of 16, fell short of the World No.5 Yuling in a straight-game, 6-11, 5-11, 9-11, match that lasted for just 23 minutes. Earlier, she had two good wins against the reigning U19 World Champion Yu-Xuan Qin of China and the 16th-seeded Lee Eunhye of South Korea to reach the last 16. She was fully dominated by Zhu from the start and was able to score just 11 points from the first two games, and was looking at a dreadful defeat. She didn’t lose her hope and came in strongly in the third game, taking a good 9-6 lead, but then she lost her momentum and lost five straight points. Earlier, the other three Indian women’s singles players in the main draw, Ayhika Mukherjee, Swastika Ghosh and Taneesha Kotech, faced a first-round exit. In men’s singles, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Manush Shah …

ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025: Manav, Manika to lead India in now Olympic event – Preview

ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025: Manav, Manika to lead India in now Olympic event – Preview

Published by Webster

Ace paddlers Manika Batra, and Manav Thakkar will lead the Indian contingent at the 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, which is all set to commence in Chengdu, China on Sunday. This is the first edition of the Mixed Team World Cup since the mixed team event was added to the Olympic roster for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games earlier this year. Joining Batra and Thakkar for the event will be veteran Olympian Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Akash Pal, the young Payas Jain, Yashashwini Ghorpade, Swastika Ghosh, and Diya Chitale. Format The 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup will be played in three stages with 16 teams from across the globe in contention. In the first stage, the 16 teams will be divided into a four groups of four teams each. Each team will play a group stage round-robin, with the top two teams from the group advancing to the next stage. In the second stage, the qualified teams from Stage 1 will all compete in a single group. All teams will play each other with …

Miss Universe India Manika Vishwakarma’s reaction to Delhi car blast goes VIRAL: ‘My heart is…’

Miss Universe India Manika Vishwakarma’s reaction to Delhi car blast goes VIRAL: ‘My heart is…’

Published by Parlour News

Following the tragic blast near Delhi’s Red Fort, Miss India 2025, Manika Vishwakarma, shared an emotional message from Thailand. Her words of compassion and resilience have touched hearts across the nation. Read further to know what she said. The shocking blast near Delhi’s Red Fort has plunged the entire nation into mourning. As India mourns the loss of lives, Manika Vishwakarma, Miss India 2025, presently representing the country at the Miss Universe pageant in Thailand, expressed a heartfelt message of unity and strength. Taking to Instagram on November 11, Manika expressed her condolences and solidarity following the tragedy. Captioning her post “Speechless and heartbroken,” she wrote: “To my fellow Indians, to my dear Delhi, and to every family touched by the heartbreaking blast today, my heart is heavy, and my spirit mourns with you.” She added that the news had filled her with deep sadness and shock, calling herself ‘a daughter of India’ standing with her people during this painful time.Prayers of Appreciation Offering prayers for the victims, Manika continued with, “To the families …

Miss Universe India and Pakistan contestants Manika Vishwakarma and Roma Riaz SPARK controversy following their VIRAL…

Miss Universe India and Pakistan contestants Manika Vishwakarma and Roma Riaz SPARK controversy following their VIRAL…

Published by Parlour News

Miss Universe India and Pakistan contestants Manika Vishwakarma and Roma Riaz SPARK controversy following their VIRAL… The ongoing tension between India and Pakistan is no secret. Following the Pahalgam incident, relations between the two nations have become even more strained. Read on to know more. Amidst the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, a photo has created a stir on social media. This photo emerged from Thailand, where the Miss Universe 2025 competition is being held. The photo shows the representatives of India and Pakistan together, sparking a variety of reactions online. Pakistani contestant Roma Riaz shared a selfie with Indian contestant Manika Vishwakarma on Instagram. In the photo, Roma is seen in a white dress and Manika in a beautiful red dress. Sharing the photo, Roma captioned it, “Tere jaisa yaar” and tagged Manika. Manika then shared the post. As soon as the photo surfaced, it went viral within hours and sparked a debate in India. Netizens reaction on Manika Vishwakarma and Roma Riaz selfie Reactions have been mixed. …

ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 2025: Manav, Manika to lead India in now Olympic event – Preview

Manika Batra bows out in first round

Published by Webster

Indian ace Manika Batra failed to progress through the first round of WTT Champions Frankfurt after a straight-game defeat against Annett Kaufmann in Germany on Wednesday. These regular early exits on the WTT tour have now pushed her outside the top 50 in the world rankings, which can hamper her chances of playing such top-tier tournaments in the coming months. Manika couldn’t find her rhythm throughout the match, scoring just 17 points across three games, losing 5-11, 5-11, 7-11 to the 19-year-old German player. This was the third meeting between the two players, with the head-to-head record now in favour of the German player at 2-1, with Manika’s last win over Annett coming in 2023. Also, Manika has now competed in 12 WTT Champions tournaments, where she has now her 10th first-round exit, having just one quarterfinal finish ever at this level. Now, Manav Thakkar is the lone remaining participant for India at this tournament, who will take on fourth-seeded Felix Lebrun of France in his pre-quarterfinal match on Friday. This will be the first …

Manav Thakkar Stretches World No. 4, Manika Batra disappoints at Worlds

Manav Thakkar Stretches World No. 4, Manika Batra disappoints at Worlds

Published by Webster

Manika Batra in action© X (Twitter) Manav Thakkar put up a spirited fight against world number four Harimoto Tomokazu before going down in the round of 64 while Manika Batra produced an ordinary showing against lower-ranked Park Gahyeon to exit the World Table Tennis Championships on Tuesday. Thakkar, ranked 48th, matched his more accomplished Japanese opponent stroke for stroke in the third and fifth game before going down 11-13, 3-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 3-11. Though he lost, Thakkar would be pleased with his performance, having outlasted Harimoto in a number of long rallies through the match. In the women’s singles, 46th ranked Manika looked out of sorts against world number 130 Park from South Korea. To Park’s credit, she comfortably tackled the long pimpled rubber that Manika uses on the backhand. What contributed to Manika’s downfall was a series of unforced errors from her forehand. The Indian lost 8-11, 7-11, 5-11, 8-11. A little later, 88th ranked Diya Chitale could not match the class of Chen I Ching from Chinese Taipei, losing 3-7, …

Manika, Manav, Diya exit as India’s singles campaign ends in R64

Manika, Manav, Diya exit as India’s singles campaign ends in R64

Published by Webster

Manika Batra, Manav Thakkar, and Diya Chitale all crashed out of Round of 64 as India’s campaign in singles at the 2025 ITTF World Championships in Doha came to an abrupt end on Tuesday. Despite the loss, Thakkar was the most impressive of Indians on display as he put up a commendable fight against the fourth seeded Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan. Thakkar fought valiantly in the first game, before conceding it 11-13. Though he was blown away 3-11 in the second, he fought back to win the third 11-9. Harimoto once again hit back to win the fourth 11-6 before Thakkar returned the favour, winning the fifth game 11-9 to stay in the contest. Pushed into a must win situation to stay alive in the match, Thakkar lost 3-11 in the sixth game to concede the match 2-4 after a hard fought battle. Meanwhile, Batra surrendered tamely to 17-year-old Park Gahyeon of South Korea. The Khel Ratna Awardee looked far from her best as she went down in straight games to the lower ranked Park. …