Asian Cup 2022 table tennis: Manika Batra becomes first Indian woman to win a medal at continental meet
The Indian table tennis player beat world No. 6 Hina Hayata to win a bronze medal. It was India’s first medal at the Asian Cup since Chetan Baboor’s bronze in 2000.
Indian table tennis player Manika Batra defeated world No. 6 Hina Hayata of Japan in the Asian Cup 2022 women’s singles bronze medal match in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday.
It was India’s third medal at the continental meet. Chetan Baboor, with silver in 1997 and bronze in 2000, was the only Indian table tennis player to win a medal at the Asian Cup before this.
The triumph also made Manika Batra the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Asian Cup table tennis tournament.
Competing at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, Manika Batra, India’s top-ranked table tennis player at world No. 44, defeated Hina Hayata, the 2021 Table Tennis World Cup bronze medallist, 4-2 (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-2) in the medal match.
Manika Batra led the match 2-1, but Hayata seemed poised to level the match with a 10-6 lead in the fourth game. Nevertheless, Manika Batra, with powerful forehand winners, took the next six points and turned the momentum in her favour.
Earlier on the day, Manika Batra lost to Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Mima Ito of Japan in the semi-finals. The world No. 5 Japanese player handed Manika Batra a 4-2 (8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11) defeat after a closely-fought encounter.
Earlier in the tournament, Manika Batra had defeated world No. 23 Chen Szu Yu of Chinese Taipei in a thrilling quarter-final to become the first Indian woman to make the tournament's semi-final stage. She had also pulled off a major upset against world No. 7 Chen Xingtong of China in the first round.
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, India’s top-ranked men’s singles player at world No. 39, and India’s national champion Sharath Kamal, ranked 44th, were knocked out in the opening round of men’s singles.