Asian Cup 2022: Manika Batra Scripts History, Becomes First Indian Female To Win Bronze

One of the country's top-ranked star table tennis players, Manika Batra, has scripted history by clinching bronze at the ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup tournament on Saturday (November 19) in Thailand's capital Bangkok. The historic triumph has made her the first female Indian paddler to win a medal at the Asian Cup table tennis tournament.

She defeated the World number six and three-time Asian champion Hina Hayata in a match by 4-2 to bag the bronze medal. Earlier, she was defeated by Mma Ito in the semifinal match, but that didn't affect her qualification for the bronze medal match, where she captured the stage and scripted history.

Praises For Batra

In the first round of the Asian Cup 2022 table tennis face-off, she displayed an exceptional performance to register victory over World number seven Chen Xingtong of China, reported NDTV Sports. After winning the bronze match, she received appreciation from several prominent personalities, including President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The president took to Twitter and wrote, "Congratulations to Manika Batra for scripting sports history by becoming the first Indian woman table tennis player to win a medal in the Asian Cup. She defeated top-ranking players in the tournament. This win will inspire our youth, especially girls, to emulate her excellence."

The Prime Minister congratulated the young champion by mentioning, "I congratulate Manika Batra for scripting history for Indian Table Tennis at the Asian Cup by winning a Bronze. Her success will inspire many athletes across India and make Table Tennis even more popular."

Know About Manika Batra

Manika Batra is one of the true stars of the table tennis sport, which has been awarded a Commonwealth Games gold medal, two Olympic medals, and other honours. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she became the first Indian female player to make it to round 32 in singles.

She came under the spotlight when she bagged four medals, of which two were gold, at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Before that Batra clinched three gold medals at the 2016 South Asian Games and made her debut in the 2016 Rio event.

She began playing the game at an early age with her siblings in Delhi, where she turned down modeling offers to concentrate on sports. She aspires to do for table tennis in India what Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu have done for badminton.

Also Read: Around 1 Billion Young People At Risk Of Hearing Loss From Due To Loud Music; Reveals Study