Saudi Smash 2024: Manika Batra stuns world No. 14 Nina Mittelham to make quarter-finals

In the quarters on Thursday, Manika will play Japan’s world No. 5 Hina Hayata, a former Asian champion and multiple World Championships medallist. The two have played thrice before, with the Japanese player recording two wins.

Earlier at the Saudi Smash 2024, Manika Batra stunned world No. 2 and former world champion Wang Manyu of the People’s Republic of China to advance to the round of 16. The Indian labelled it as the “biggest achievement” of her career.

The 28-year-old Manika had beaten world No. 57 Andreea Dragoman of Romania in the opening round on Saturday.

Manika recently lost her place to Sreeja Akula as the top-ranked women’s singles player in India. Sreeja is currently ranked 38th in the world.

The recent results, however, will propel Manika to not only her career-best ranking but also regain her spot as India’s No. 1 table tennis player. Manika’s best singles ranking is 33, achieved early last year.

Manika Batra is the only Indian table tennis player alive in the competition. In the main draw, Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula were ousted in the opening round of the men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah (men’s doubles) and Ayhika Mukherjee-Sutirtha Mukherjee (women’s doubles) lost in the second round. The mixed doubles pair of Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade, meanwhile, were knocked out in the quarter-finals.

The Saudi Smash concludes on Saturday.