Manika Batra: Indian table tennis star Manika Batra has expressed deep disappointment over her non-selection in the women's team announced for the Asian Games 2026. He has raised questions on the selection and demanded a clear answer. Manika was not included in the team and has been kept as a reserve player along with Swastika Ghosh. She says that due to her absence in domestic tournaments, she could not make it to the national rankings of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), which affected her selection.
Manika is India's number two female player in the world rankings and she is at 51st place in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings. Just above him is the country's number one player Sreeja Akula at world number 45. Manika says that she is just a little outside the top-50 in the world ranking and this difference is very less. This situation may change in a ranking cycle. In her statement, Manika said that she was not given any clear information about how the selection criteria were implemented. Referring to the previous Asian Games selection, he asked that some players were given special exemption despite their weak position in the world and national rankings, then why did the same not happen with them this time.
I urge Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi ji, our Sports Minister @mansukhmandviya ji and @WeAreTeamIndia to look into the matter
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— Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) June 19, 2026
Manika has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to intervene in this matter and get the entire process investigated. He has sought clarification in writing which should include the basis of selection, weightage and documentary evidence. Let us tell you, Manika Batra is the star player of Indian table tennis. He has won many medals for India.
On the other hand, while giving information about the selection, TTFI has said that according to the policy of 2023, 50 percent weightage is given to national ranking, 40 percent weightage to world ranking and 10 percent weightage is given to the discretion of the selection committee. The Federation claims that the best and consistently performing players were given priority. Due to which Manika Batra has not been selected in the team.
