Paddler Manika Batra Makes History As 1st Indian To Reach Olympic Pre-Quarters

Table tennis champion Manika Batra defeated France’s Prithika Pavade and advanced to Round of 16 at the Paris Games, making history as the first Indian paddler, male or female, to qualify for the pre-quarters in the Olympics. On July 29, the 29-year-old achieved a decisive 4-0 victory (11-9, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7) in just 37 minutes. Batra effectively transitioned between attack and defence to consistently keep the World No.18 French opponent on her toes. Batra will face either Hong Kong’s Zhu Chengzu or Japan’s Miu Hirano in the next round.

Who Is Manika Batra?

Manika Batra is one of the most highly regarded athletes in India, who has brought laurels to the country at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games among other global events. Born and raised in Delhi, the athlete started playing table tennis at the age of four, inspired by her elder brother and sister. 

Her professional journey in the game started after she won a match in a State-level Under-8 tournament. She then decided to train under coach Sandeep Gupta who suggested her to switch to Hans Raj Model School where he ran his academy. Dropping out of college, she made many sacrifices for her athletic career.

In 2014, Batra qualified for the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, where she finished quarterfinalist. In 2015, she won three medals at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships-- a silver each in the women's team and doubles events and one bronze in the singles event.

At the 2016 South Asian Games, Batra brought glory to India when she won three gold medals-- one in women's doubles event (with Pooja Sahasrabudhe), mixed doubles event (with Anthony Amalraj) and women's team event (with Mouma Das and Shamini Kumaresan). She had also qualified for the final.

Batra qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics where she accepted an unfortunate defeat in the first round of the women's individual event. She bounced back in 2018, winning four medals at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. Here, she made history as the first Indian paddler to win gold in a singles women's event.

In 2018, Manika Batra became the first Indian ever to win a 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' title at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Awards in Incheon, South Korea. During this time, she was ranked World No 52, the only Indian table tennis champion in the Top-100. 

At the 2019 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, Batra was the member of the women's team which won the gold. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Batra reached the third round of the women's singles event, becoming the first Indian paddler to achieve this feat.

Batra also participated the 2021 WTT Contender Budapest mixed doubles and the 2021 WTT Contender Lasko women's doubles. She also participated at the first-ever WTT Grand Smash event which was the Singapore Smash 2022, where she was unfortunately defeated in all the events.

At the WTT Contender Doha 2022, Batra won silver in mixed doubles event and a bronze in the women's doubles event. In April that year, she and Archana Kamath reached the pair ranking of world no. 4 which is the highest ever ranking by an Indian Table Tennis player in all categories.

Manika Batra was honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award in 2020, which is the highest sporting honour in India. In 2018, she was also conferred the Arjuna Award. With so many glorious laurels to her name, she is a beacon of hope for Indians awaiting victory at the Paris Olympics.