Manika Batra Voices Concerns Over Asian Games 2026 Selection Process

Manika Batra's Disappointment with Asian Games Selection

In a recent statement, Manika Batra, one of India's top table tennis players, expressed her frustration regarding her exclusion from the national team for the upcoming Asian Games 2026. The 31-year-old Olympian was only named as a reserve when the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) revealed the 10-member squad for the Aichi-Nagoya event on Thursday.

Following the announcement, Batra took to social media platform X to share her disappointment, stating, "It is disheartening not to be selected for the Asian Games 2026, especially without any clear explanation provided."

She raised concerns about the inconsistency in the selection criteria, noting that different standards seemed to have been applied compared to previous selections. "If the same rules were to be followed as in the last Asian Games, I would like to understand why my case was treated differently," she remarked.

Batra has called upon the Prime Minister, the Sports Minister, and the Indian Olympic Association to investigate the selection process, advocating for transparency and fairness in the criteria used.

The TTFI's selection policy assigns 50% weight to national rankings, 40% to world rankings, and 10% to the discretion of the selection committee. Despite being India's second-highest-ranked female player globally, Batra's absence from domestic competitions negatively affected her national ranking, leading to her omission from the main squad.

The women's team will be captained by Sreeja Akula, who is currently India's highest-ranked female player at world No. 45. Other members include Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee, and Syndrela Das, with Batra and Swastika Ghosh listed as reserves.

On the men's side, G Sathiyan will lead the team, which also features Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, and Payas Jain, with Ankur Bhattacharjee and Ronit Bhanja as reserves.

Batra is recognized as one of India's most accomplished table tennis athletes, having contributed significantly to the country's success at the Asian Games, including winning a mixed doubles bronze alongside Sharath Kamal in Jakarta 2018.

India has previously secured other table tennis medals at the Asian Games, including a men's team bronze in 2018 and a women's doubles bronze by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee at Hangzhou 2023.

The table tennis events at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are set to occur from September 20 to 28.

Asian Games 2026: India table tennis squad

Men: G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, Payas Jain.

Women: Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Syndrela Das.

Reserves: Ankur Bhattacharjee, Ronit Bhanja (men); Swastika Ghosh, Manika Batra (women).