Manika Batra becomes 1st Indian woman to bag bronze at Asian table tennis event

Star Indian table tennis player Manika Batra clinched the bronze medal at the ongoing ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup tournament on Saturday (19), becoming the first Indian female paddler to win a medal at the event.

She won the bronze medal match against World number six and three-time Asian champion Hina Hayata by 4-2. Batra defeated her opponent 11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-2.

Earlier, she had lost to Mima Ito in the semifinal match by 2-4 (8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11). Despite her loss, she played in the bronze medal match and captured the prize.

Batra produced a stunning performance to register a victory over World No. 7 Chen Xingtong of China in the first round of the ongoing Asian Cup 2022 tournament in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday.

Competing at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, World No. 44 Batra defeated the fourth-seeded table tennis player 4-3 (8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9).

Following this, she qualified for the quarterfinal. In the QFs, she defeated Chen Szu-Yu of Taiwan by 4-3 (6-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-9) to qualify for the semifinal.

The current edition of the Asian Cup is being held from November 17 to November 19 at Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.