Manika Batra to lead 11-member Indian team at ITTF World Table Tennis C'ships Finals

ANI May 17, 2025 236 views

Manika Batra will captain India's 11-member squad at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships in Doha. The team includes top-ranked Sreeja Akula and rising stars like Yashaswini Ghorpade. India faces tough competition, especially from China, which swept all titles last year. The tournament runs from May 17-25 at Lusail Sports Arena.

"India will have four competitors in each of the two singles competitions." – Olympics.com
New Delhi May 17: Manika Batra will lead an 11-member strong Indian team at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals 2025, which starts in Doha, Qatar, from Saturday, according to Olympics.com.

Key Points

1

Manika Batra leads India's strongest table tennis contingent

2

Sreeja Akula is top-ranked singles player at world No. 34

3

India eyes breakthrough against dominant Chinese players

4

Young talents like Yashaswini Ghorpade aim for upsets

The World Table Tennis Championships 2025 matches will be played at the Lusail Sports Arena. The Indian table tennis squad for the World Championships includes Sreeja Akula, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, Sutirtha and Ayhika Mukherjee, amongst others.

India will have four competitors in each of the two singles competitions. Sreeja Akula, world No. 34, is the top-ranked Indian singles player in the fray. World No. 46 Manika Batra and the up-and-coming duo of Yashaswini Ghorpade and Diya Chitale will join her in the women's singles draw.

Meanwhile, Manav Thakkar, who is ranked 49th in the world, is the top-ranked Indian in the men's singles division. The entry list also includes Manush Shah, G Sathiyan, and the young Ankur Bhattacharjee. Diya Chitale and Manush Shah are seeded ninth in mixed doubles, while Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah will partner up for men's doubles and are seeded eighth.

The tournament, which concludes on May 25, will begin from the round of 128 in singles and the round of 64 in each of the doubles competitions. This year's World Championships in Doha, the 58th edition of the biennial tournament, will feature some of the world's best table tennis players in action.

Recently, players from the People's Republic of China have dominated the competition, taking home all five championships at the previous tournament, which took place in Durban, South Africa. The sole victory for Indian athletes at the World Table Tennis Championships was during the inaugural edition in 1926. '

World Table Tennis Championships 2025: India squad

Men's singles: Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, G Sathiyan, Ankur Bhattacharjee

Women's singles: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale

Men's doubles: Manav Thakkar/Manush Shah, G Sathiyan/Harmeet Desai

Women's doubles: Yashaswini Ghorpade/Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee/Ayhika Mukherjee

Mixed doubles: Diya Chitale/Manush Shah, Yashaswini Ghorpade/Harmeet Desai.

Reader Comments

Here are 6 diverse Indian perspective comments for the article:
R
Rahul K.
Manika Batra leading the team is perfect! She's been our most consistent player internationally. Hope this young team can pull off some upsets against the Chinese dominance. 🇮🇳🏓 #Cheer4India
P
Priya M.
Excited to see Yashaswini and Diya - the next gen players getting this big opportunity. Table tennis is growing fast in India but we need more corporate sponsorships like badminton got.
A
Amit S.
Good squad selection but concerned about doubles combinations. Why break up the Mukherjee sisters who won Commonwealth gold? Hope the new pairings work out.
N
Neha T.
The Chinese domination is scary but our players have improved so much in last 5 years. Just reaching quarterfinals would be a huge achievement. All the best team India! ✨
V
Vikram J.
Table tennis deserves more coverage in Indian media. These athletes work as hard as cricketers but get 1% of the attention. Star Sports should broadcast all matches live.
S
Sanya R.
Manika-Sreeja combo in women's doubles would have been lethal! But excited to see fresh pairings. Hope they've trained well together. Doha's conditions can be tricky with the humidity.

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Manika Batra ITTF World Championships Indian table tennis Sreeja Akula Doha 2025