Francis Ajuonuma
India’s quest to dominate in the women’s events at the coming 2024 WTT Contender Lagos will be spearheaded by no other person than the vastly improved Manika Batra.
Batra, India’s highest-ranked table tennis in the world at 24 position, has been impressive in recent tournaments as witnessed at Jeddah Grand Smash, where she upset World No. 2, Wang Manyu of People’s Republic of China in the round of 32 and world No. 14, Nina Mitteelham of Germany in the pre-quarterfinals and in the process became the first Indian singles table tennis player to reach the quarterfinals of a WTT Grand Smash event.
A performance she hopes to surpass at coming tournaments to improve her ranking and the 2024 WTT Contender Lagos is not an exception.
“It is indeed a very proud moment for me,” Manika was quoted to have said in a recent interview, as per olympics.com
“To break into the top 25 and achieve my career-best ranking just months before the Olympic Games is definitely a very potent boost to my preparations.
“I am truly honoured to have achieved this feat and it is incredibly fulfilling to see all my hard work and efforts pay off. As I look ahead to Paris 2024, I’m motivated more than ever to continue this performance and move upwards in the ranking to make my country proud,” Batra added.
At the WTT Contender Lagos which holds from June 19-23 at the multi-purpose Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Hall, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Batra will enjoy the support of her compatriot, Sreeja Akula, who is also an integral member of the Indian team that qualified for the Olympic games at the 2024 World Team Championships in Busan, South Korea.
Akula, a familiar face in Lagos will also enjoy the company of Yashaswini Ghorpade, Archana Kamath, and Sutirtha Mukherjee, with all aiming for a podium finish in Lagos.
Like Batra, Akula is in red-hot form, already claiming two WTT Feeder Series events this year, and the chance to make a rapid graduation and claim a WTT Series title will not be squandered by the World No. 41 as she looks to continue her rise in the global ladder.
However, defending champion and world No. 7, Shin Yubin of South Korea who is also headlining the Lagos showpiece could offer a stumbling block to put Batra and her Indian compatriots at check.
WTT Contender Lagos 2024 offers up a total prize pool of $80,000 as well as 400 ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking Points for the champions.
