Manika Batra became the first Indian paddler to win an ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup medal on Saturday, defeating world number six Hina Hayata of Japan in the bronze play-off.
Manika Batra Beats Another Top-10 Player to Win Historic Bronze in the Asian Cup
To complete the amazing accomplishment, the world number 44 overcame Hayata 4-2 (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-2). Manika will get a USD 10,000 prize in addition to the historic bronze.
Defeating the greatest players is a significant victory for me. I had a terrific time playing and battling it out with them to win. In all of my upcoming events, I’ll continue to give it my best. Manika was furious, “I expect your full support,” she said.
Manika lost 2-4 (8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11) against second-seeded Mima Ito in the semifinal match earlier in the day.
Despite a rocky beginning, Ito ended strong and defeated an Indian player with excellent play in line with her reputation and rankings.
Manika’s resilience was on display in the fourth game of the bronze-medal playoff when she was down and out and fourth-seed Hayata held the lead with four game points at 10-6.
Manika then pushed herself into the action, employing every trick in her arsenal, assaulting the sides with crisp forehands, including some counters that brooked no resistance, and employing the backhand punches well and strategically.
When the Japanese had the service at two, Manika moved up with a luck point (11-10) and took the win point when she got the service back with her. This was made possible by an unforeseen mistake. The ball from Hayata’s serve fell to the ground on her side after hitting the net.
In the next race, the Japanese ran strongly in front to close the distance. Manika, however, changed her strategy in the sixth game by immediately going on the attack and giving her opponent the first point at 3-1. She scored one more point to make it 5-2, but it was all she could conjure.
As their irritation mounted, the Japanese made more mistakes and struggled to keep the ball on the table, all the while Manika continued to improve and won the match 11-2.
Manika defeated Chen Xingtong, the seventh-ranked player in the world from China, in the round of 16, and then defeated Taipei’s Chen Szu-Yu, who was rated 23rd, 4-3 in the quarterfinals en route to winning the bronze.
After Achanta Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan both finished sixth in 2015 and 2019, respectively, Manika on Friday guaranteed the best finish by an Indian in the 39-year history of the Asian Cup.
The best 16 men’s and women’s singles players from the continent, as determined by world rankings and qualifying, competed in the USD 200,000 event.