Asian Cup 2022 Table Tennis: Manika Batra becomes first Indian woman to win medal at Asian Cup

Asian Cup Table Tennis 2022: 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 November 18, 2022. With the win, Manika Batra became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Asian Cup Table Tennis Tournament.

It is also India's third medal at the continent’s meet, with Chetan Baboor winning Silver in 1997 and Bronze in 2000. He was the only Indian Table Tennis player to win a medal at the Asian Cup before this. The Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also appreciated Manika Batra’s achievement via Twitter and also complimented India’s improving performance in sports.

Asian Cup 2022 Table Tennis: How Manika Batra became first Indian woman to win a medal?

Manika Batra, at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, defeated Hina Hayata, the 2021 Table Tennis World Cup Bronze Medallist, by 4-2 (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-12) 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 6 points and successfully turned the momentum in her favour. Manika Batra is India’s top-ranked table tennis player at World No. 44.

Table Tennis player Manika Batra becomes first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of Asian Cup Table Tennis tournament with a 4-3 win over Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei.

Manika Batra creates history by becoming the first ever Indian female paddler to win a medal at Asian Cup Table Tennis Tennis tournament. She won a Bronze medal in style by beating World No. 6 & 3 time Asian Champion Hina Hayata 4-2 in Bronze medal bout. pic.twitter.com/WCsJ44XRy7

— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2022

Manika Batra at Asian Cup 2022 Table Tennis

Earlier on the same day, Manika Batra had lost to Tokyo 2020 Bronze Medallist Mima Ito of Japan in Semi-Finals. World’s No. 5 Japanese player handed Manika Batra a 4-2 defeat after a closely fought encounter.

Earlier in the Asian Cup 2022 Table Tennis 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.

Asian Cup Table Tennis Tournament

The Asian Cup Table Tennis Tournament is an annual competition which is held by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and the Asian Table Tennis Union.

The first edition of the tournament was held in 1983. The competition features men’s and women’s singles events, with 16 players qualifying to take part in each part, subject to a maximum of two players per association.

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