India's performance at the Olympics - Table tennis

India's table tennis team faced a challenging campaign at the Paris Olympics, with mixed results across events. In the women's team quarterfinals, India pushed Germany to four games, but ultimately fell short. Archana Kamath's win over Shan Xiaona was a highlight, but the team couldn't quite overcome the German squad.

In women's singles, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula put up strong fights but were ousted by Japan's Miu Hirano and China's Sun Yingsha, respectively. Sharath Achanta and Harmeet Desai faced tough opponents in the men's singles, losing to Slovenia's Deni Kozul and France's Félix Lebrun.

The men's team, meanwhile, struggled against China, losing 3-0 in the last 16 round. Despite the disappointing results, India's table tennis players showed glimpses of their potential and will look to build on this experience for future tournaments.

Table Tennis India aims for medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Indian players are laser-focused on the Paris Olympics 2024, where 60 countries are participating in the Table Tennis sport. This time, they will not go to the athletes village to enjoy and meet famous sports stars. Their goal is to bag nothing less than medals.

This is probably the first Olympics when this aim is realistic. We have the experienced Sharath Kamal again along with India's star player, Manika Batra. But this time, we also have Sreeja Akula who has improved by leaps and bounds in the past few years and is now ranked in the elite groups.

India's team medal prospects provide some hope as the teams have players of good strength and experience.

Massimo Costantini is also sensing the ambitious mood of the Indian Table tennis team. A unique fact this time is that there are a few personal coaches, which indicates that the sport has become highly professional and lucrative at the top level.

India Table Tennis team composition:

Men’s team: Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and Manav Thakkar; 

Reserve player: G. Sathiyan

Men’s singles: Sharath Kamal and Harmeet Desai

Women’s team: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Archana Kamath; 

Reserve player: Ayhika Mukherjee

Women’s singles: Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula

Sathiyan, Manika fly to new highs

G Sathiyan and Manika Batra reached new high rankings of 28 and 47 respectively. Their previous month rankings stood at 31 and 51.

These are indeed new highest rankings in the new millennium. Table tennis is growing in popularity mainly due to the exploits of stars like Manika, Sharath, and Sathiyan. There are multiple generations of Table tennis players now ready to take the country to newer highs.

Many Indian group matches at the Australian Open Table tennis tournament today

Harmeet Desai will start his match at 6 PM (Geelong time) at the Seamaster 2018 ITTF World Tour Platinum Australian Open at Geelong. Sathiyan and Sharath will play their matches next followed by Manav a little later in the day. Sanil and Amalraj have already played their first matches yesterday. Sharath and Sathiyan have relatively easy opposition while Manav faces the formidable Maharu Yoshimura.

In the Women's singles, India's star player Manika Batra plays her match tomorrow. In a bizzare pairing, Sutirtha Mukherjee will face off against Ayhika Mukherjee in a group match. Bizzare because they've traveled thousands of kilometers to play at the Australian open from their home where they live just some kilometers apart! Pooja Sahasrabuddhe Koparkar won her tough group match earlier.

Photo courtesy of the ITTF. Only for representational purposes.

Manika Batra profile

Manika is a star sports person who is fast becoming a household name. For those who are not already aware, so who is this new Star on the horizon of Indian sports, Manika Batra?

Manika Batra is a Table tennis player from Delhi who has catapulted herself and her sport into the limelight. She won the most medals as an individual from India at the Commonwealth games at Gold coast in 2018.

Manika is attracting increasing attention in India as Prime Minister has shown his appreciation for her international achievements. He tweeted about her medals at the Commonwealth games and recently sent her a fitness challenge, which was also sent to H D Kumaraswamy (Karnataka Chief Minister) and IPS officers.

Manika will be in action at the Ultimate Table Tennis Challenge league, which starts at Pune from 14th of June, 2018. This is the second season of the league.

Major achievements

Asian Games
Bronze medal - 2018 Asian Games at Jakarta Palembang Mixed doubles (with Sharath Kamal)

Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – 2018 Gold Coast Women's team
Gold medal – 2018 Gold Coast Women's singles
Silver medal – 2018 Gold Coast Women's doubles
Bronze medal – 2018 Gold Coast Mixed doubles

South Asian Games
Gold medal – 2016 Guwahati/Shillong Women's team
Gold medal – 2016 Guwahati/Shillong Women's doubles
Gold medal – 2016 Guwahati/Shillong Mixed doubles
Silver medal – 2016 Guwahati/Shillong Women's singles

National Championships
Gold medal - Hyderabad (January 2017) Women'singles
Gold medal - Guwahati 2013 Youth Girls singles
Gold medal - Alappuzha 2014 Youth Girls singles
Gold medal - Dharamshala 2015 Youth Girls singles

India win a historic Gold medal at the Commonwealth games 2018

Manika Batra beat World No. 4 Feng Tianwei of Singapore! 

India is 1-0 up in the Gold medal round of the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast.

Madhurika Patkar Torgalkar is playing against Yu Mengyu in the 2nd match. 

Update: Although Madhurika lost, the doubles pair won and allowed Manika to demonstrate her dominance in the reverse singles.

India won 3-1 and with it the shining gold medal.

India Table Tennis players' world ranking

The following are the Indian Table Tennis players rankings on the basis of World rankings in November 2017:

Top India Men World Rankings

45 ACHANTA Sharath Kamal
88 GNANASEKARAN Sathiyan
91 DESAI Harmeet
94 GHOSH Soumyajit
135 ANTHONY Amalraj

The superstar Achanta Sharath Kamal is still the top Indian player by world ranking in the Men's section. G Sathiyan is making waves on the ITTF circuit. If he continues at the same pace, he will soon be a seasoned force to reckon with.

Top India Women World Rankings

107 BATRA Manika
139 DAS Mouma
153 MUKHERJEE Ayhika
191 PATKAR Madhurika
219 KAMATH Archana Girish

Manika has been consistent from many years and has even breached the top 100 earlier. We can hope for a lot from Archana Kamath, who is ranked 219 even though she is still a junior! The surprise in this list is Ayhika, who is ranked high due to her exploits earlier.

Photo courtesy of the ITTF.

Manika bags the women's crown at Dharwad

Manika Batra beat Sutirtha Mukherjee to win the South Zone National Ranking Table Tennis Women's final.

Sutirtha fought hard to stay competitive at 2-2, but lost momentum after losing a close 5th game. Manika won 4-2 (11-4,9-11,11-8,7-11,13-11,11-7)

Earlier, Sutirtha beat Archana and Manika beat Madhurikaa Patkar Torgalkar.

Top India Women Table Tennis players by World Ranking

The following are the top ranked Indian Women Table Tennis players by World Ranking:

Manika Batra is just out of the top 100. Mouma Das, Ayhika Mukherjee, and Madhurika Patkar follow next. Interestingly, Junior player Archana Kamath, is fifth in this list.

Amalraj, Mouma are West Zone Table Tennis Champions

A Amalraj and Mouma Das bagged the Men's and Women's titles at the West Zone National Table Tennis championships at Thane. In the finals, they beat G Sathiyan and Manika Batra respectively in nail biting finishes that went down to the wire.

Results:

Men’s Singles: Final: Anthony Amalraj (PSPB) bt G. Sthiyan (PSPB) 4-3 (14-16, 11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6); Semifinals: Anthony Amalraj bt Devesh Karia (Guj) 4-3 (8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 7-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4, G. Sathiyan bt Sudhanshu Grover (PSPB) 4-1 (11-4, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9).

Women’s Singles: Final: Mouma Das (PSPB) bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 4-3 (7-11, 6-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 12-10, 12-10; Semifinals: Manika Batra bt Ayhika Mukherjee (AAI) 4-0 (11-7, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7), Mouma Das bt K. Shamini (PSPB) 4-1 (11-4, 11-5, 2-11, 11-7, 11-5).

Youth Boys Singles: Final: Arjun Ghosh (WB) bt Sabhya Virmani (AAI) 4-1 (11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-3, 11-4); Semifinals: Arjun Ghosh bt Ravindra Kotiyan (Mah) 4-3 (11-7, 11-7, 5-11, 12-14, 11-2, 9-11, 11-5), Sabhay Virmani bt Birdie Boro (PSPB) 4-3 (9-11, 12-10,13-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-7).

Youth Girls Singles: Final: Manika Batra (PSPB) bt Moumita Datta (WB) 4-0 (11-5, 11-8, 11-6, 11-4);Semifinals: Moumita Datta bt Reeth Rishya (PSPB) 4-1 (11-7, 11-2, 10-12, 11-8, 13-11), Manika Batra bt Ayhika Mukherjee (AAI) 4-1 (11-7, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8).

Photo courtesy of the ITTF.

Divya, Amalraj win Central Zone National Table Tennis Ranking tournament at Jamnagar, Gujarat

Divya Mahajan nee Deshpande and A Amalraj won the Central Zone National Ranking Table Tennis tournament at Jamnagar. In the finals, Divya beat Pooja, while Amalraj beat Sanil Shetty. 

Results: 
Men: Final: Anthony Amalraj (PSPB) bt Sanil Shetty (PSPB) 11-3, 12-10, 4-11, 11-7, 11-8; 
Women: Final: Divya Deshpande (Mah) bt Pooja Sahasrabudhe (PSPB) 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8; 
Youth Boys: Final: Ravindra Kotiyan (Mah) bt Birdie Boro (PSPB) 11-6, 12-10, 12-10, 4-11, 11-7; 
Youth Girls: Final: Reeth Rishya (PSPB) bt Manika Batra (PSPB) 7-11, 13-11, 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6;

Indian team for the Asian Championships at Thailand

The following members are representing India at the Asian Table Tennis Championships at Pattaya, Thailand:

Men: Sharath Kamal, Soumyajit Ghosh, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty and G Sathiyan
Women: Mouma Das, Ankita Das, Pooja Sahasrabudhe, K Shamini and Manika Batra

Manika wins two times at the North Zone Table Tennis Championships

Manika Batra is the highest ranked player from India on the World Women's ranking list.
Although she was not seeded at the very top in the Women's event at the North Zone National Ranking Table Tennis Tournament, she won it and also added the Youth girls title to her kitty.

Women's final:
Manika Batra bt Ankita Das (4-3) 11-4, 9-11, 7-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8)

Youth girls final:
Manika Batra bt Suthirtha Mukherjee 4-1 (13-11, 11-9, -11, 11-7, 11-8)

Editor

Manika Batra No. 1 Indian woman on ITTF World Ranking list

Manika Batra is no. 1 Indian Woman player on the ITTF rankings list even though she is still a junior ranked in the top 30 in the world!

Recently, she added one more feather to her cap by winning a medal at the Asian Junior Championships along with Reeth Tennison. This is a huge feat considering the strength of the Asian TT giants.

Manika Batra and Soumyajit win U 21 titles at the Brazil Open Table Tennis tournament

Manika Batra and Soumyajit Ghosh won the U 21 Girls and Boys titles at the Brazil open.
While Manika beat the host nation's Caroline Kumahara 11:5, 9:11, 12:10, 11:5 and 11:5, Soumyajit over came Benjamin Brossier of France in seven tough sets 8:11, 6:11, 11;7, 11:6, 9:11, 11:7 and 11:2.
Incidentally, Soumyajit beat G Sathiyan also of India, who won the bronze medal.

All in all, the Indian players ensured a rich medal haul with Ankita Das reaching the finals (to be played today), again beating Caroline Kumahara and Harmeet Desai (semi finals). Ankita Das faces the very strong Elizabeta Samara of Romania, who recently achieved the rare feat of an European reaching a World Cup final.

Photo source: ittf.com

Indian entries for GAC group World Tour Brazil Open at Santos, Brazil

India is sending a young contingent to the GAC Group 2013 ITTF World Tour Brazil Open, Americas Challenge Series
08 Aug 2013 - 11 Aug 2013, Santos, BRAZIL

Boys
Soumyajit Ghosh, Harmeet Desai, G Sathiyan, V Nitin

Girls
Kritwika Roy, Ankita Das, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Manika Batra

Delhi wins National Women's Team Table Tennis title

Delhi girls win!

Delhi girls bagged the prestigious Jayalakshmi cup at the National Table Tennis Championships being played at Raipur. They upset favourites, PSPB 3-1 to win the title.

Manika Batra played brilliantly to beat both Olympian, Ankita Das and Pooja S, while Neha Agarwal continued her superb form with a win over Ankita.


PSPB (Petroleum Sports Promotion Board easily won the Men's title 3-0.


Results:
Delhi bt PSPB 3-1 (Manika Batra bt Pooja Sahasrabudhe 4-11, 11-7, 12-10, 11-9; Neha Aggarwal bt Ankita Das 11-13, 12-10, 11-5, 11-9; Riti Shankar lost to K. Shamini 6-11, 6-11, 11-13; Manika Batra bt Ankita Das 15-13, 11-8, 11-2

Delhi State Table Tennis Ranking tournament

Delhi top players from top left: Utkarsh Gupta, Manika Batra, and Neha Aggarwal

The Delhi State TT tournament will be held from September 10-13 at Hansraj Model School, Punjabi Bagh.

Please write to editor@tabletennisbug.com for any details that you require.

Editor

Amalraj, Manika bag titles

Anthony Amalraj - the quickest Indian TT player

Two big upsets on the final day of the Inter Institutional Championships 2011.

Amalraj beat India's only truly International player, Sharath Kamal 4-3 (10-12,14-12,11-5,4-11,4-11,11-6,11-7). Manika Batra beat Poulomi Ghatak 4-3 (7-11,8-11,11-5,11-9,11-7,8-11,13-11).

Amalraj went on to bag a double crown by winning the Men's doubles with partner Jubin Kumar

Doubles results

Womens doubles final: 

Madhurika Palkar  and K.Shamini  bt  Poulomi Ghatak and Mouma Das  (PSPB) 11-9,11-4,11-3

Mens doubles final:

Anthony Amalraj and Jubin Kumar bt  T.Nitin and Sourav Saha 11-6,7-11,11-6,11-8

All Indian TT stars at Chile Pro Tour advance

Harmeet Desai and Soumyajit Ghosh

All the 10 Indian players (five men and five women) at the Santiago tourney made it to the pre-quarterfinals! This is definitely a record in Indian Table Tennis history.

Of course, there will be those who complain that the tourney does not feature big stars, but it does augur well for Indian Table Tennis, especially since there are quite a few youngsters in the draw.
In fact, there is some good news and some bad news on this front. Harmeet Desai and Soumyajit Ghosh meet in the round of 16, but one of them will reach the quarter finals of a Pro Tour event in their teenage years, which is a huge boost for their confidence.
None of the Indian women players meet each other.

Pre quarterfinalists:
Women: Mamta Prabhu, Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar, K Shamini, and Ankita Das
Men: Sourav Chakraborty, Soumyadeep Roy, Harmeet Desai, Soumyajit Ghosh, and Sanil Shetty