With her victory in the Saudi Smash, ace women's table tennis player Manika Batra reached a career-high singles rating of 24, making history as the first Indian woman paddler to enter the top 25 worldwide rankings.
The 28-year-old Khel Ratna awardee, who started the event ranked 39th, rose 15 ranks after her performance in Jeddah, where she made it to the quarterfinals. On her journey to the Saudi Smash final eight, Manika, the gold medallist in both the individual and team categories at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, stunned China's Wang Manyu, the reigning world champion and Olympic gold medallist (ranked second).
Additionally, it became the first time a female Indian player had progressed that far in the competition. After advancing through the draw, Manika eventually scored 350 points.
Manika, who made history last year when she became the first paddler from India to go to the women's singles quarterfinals in Hangzhou, stated on Instagram that her goal of qualifying for the Paris Olympics coincided with her ranking rise.
"A significant boost in confidence as we head toward Paris in 2024. reaching the highest level ever attained by an Indian in the women's singles ITTF Ranking and breaking into the Top-25,"
Manika also gave credit to her Belarusian sparring partner Kirill Barabanov and her instructor Aman Balgu for her accomplishments. .
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