With youngsters at her heels, Manika Batra aims to level up her game
4 min readPanajiJul 23, 2026 11:09 PM IST Just like she twiddles her racket to switch from spin to anti-spin mid-rally, Manika Batra has turned off the offensive switch in the Asian Games saga. The public, prolonged episode began with her non-selection in the core India squad and left her closure-less, seeking answers. A “mentally exhausted” Manika, who is the country’s top-ranked women’s singles paddler (world number 51) as per the latest ITTF rankings, has moved on nevertheless. Iffy recent form and age have not diminished her dream of an ever-elusive Olympic medal. For that, however, she needs to qualify first. “Of course, I have to improve my ranking. And I am working towards that thing every day in my training, in my tournaments,” Manika tells The Indian Express, three days after neutralizing three straight losses with three straight wins in the ongoing Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) edition. “Till next year I have this goal. And I will give my best to improve my ranking till the end of this year, so that I can …
