Manika Batra Biography: Manika Batra, born on 15th June 1995, is a professional Indian table tennis player. She has represented India in many international tournaments in single’s, double’s, and mixed doubles. She is already an established table tennis star at such a young age as she is ranked 63rd among the best TT players in the world (as of 30th July 2021). Manika Batra hails from New Delhi, and she completed her education in the same city.
Full name | Manika Girish Batra |
Age | 28 years (as per 2023) |
Birthplace | New Delhi, India |
Date of Birth | 15th June, 1995 |
Height | 183cm |
Nickname | – |
Parents | Girish Batra (Father) Sushma Batra (Mother) |
Spouse/Boyfriend | N/A |
Kids | – |
Sport | Table Tennis |
Let’s dive deep into Manika Batra’s life and talk about Manika Batra’s Biography.
Manika Batra Biography: Early Life
Manika was born on 15th June 1995 to simple Hindu parents Girish Batra and Sushma Batra in New Delhi, India. She started playing table tennis at the age of 4, getting inspired by both of her siblings.
At the age of 8, she won her first match at the U-8 State Level Tournament. Sandeep Gupta (table tennis coach) was greatly inspired by her win at the state-level competition and suggested shifting her schooling to Hansraj Model School. Later, she joined Jesus and Mary College, New Delhi, but she took a break to focus on her table tennis career after one year.
As a teenager, she was given many modeling opportunities because of her dazzling height and looks, but she always refused to focus only on her career.
Manika Batra Biography: Career
- Manika started playing cricket table tennis from the age of 4 and won her first U-8 State Level Tournament at eight.
- She trained at Hansraj Model School under Sandeep Gupta.
- She represented India for the first time internationally at the age of 13.
- At the age of 15, she won a silver medal for table tennis in the Chile Open 2011.
- In 2014, Manika represented India in the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games.
- In the 2015 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship, she won a total of three medals. Silver in the Women’s Team with Ankit Das and Mouma Das, silver in Women’s Double with Ankita Das, while bronze in Women’s Singles.
- Manika won gold medals in Doubles with Pooja Shahasrabudhe, Mixed Doubles with Anthony Amalraj, and Womens’ Team with Mouma das and Shamini Kumaresan 2016 Asian Games.
- In the South Asian Games of 2016, this 21-year-old star bagged three gold medals.
- She was selected in the Summer Olympics of 2016 after qualifying the group stage of South Asia but didn’t last too long; she was thrown out in the first round of Women’s Individual to Katarzyna Grzybowska from Poland.
- Batra played a vital role in winning a gold medal for the Indian Women’s Team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Manika and Mouma Das lost to FengTianwei and Yu Mengyu of Singapore in Women’s Doubles for the final gold clash in the same competition.
- Manika became the first Indian table tennis player to win gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games defeating Yu Mengyu.
- She won four medals at the 2018 Commonwealth games with two golds, one silver and one bronze which was her most successful event.
- On December 12, 2018, she became the first Indian to be awarded The Breakthrough Star Award by ITTF.
- In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she failed to qualify for a position in the women’s team event defeated by French player Marie Magot at the quarter-finals by 2-3.
- The world no. 4 pair ranking was attained by Batra and Archana Girish Kamath on April 5, 2022, marking the best ranking ever held by an Indian tennis player across all categories.
Manika Batra Biography: Family
- Manika hails from Naraina Vihar of New Delhi, born to Hindu parents Girish Batra and Sushma Batra on June 15, 1995.
- She’s the third and youngest child in the family.
- Her elder brother Sahil and sister Anchal both played table tennis which inspired Manika to pursue a further career.
Manika Batra Biography: Awards and Achievements
- Arjuna Award – 2018.
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – 2020.
- Chile Open – Silver medal in U-21.
- Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship 2015 – Silver medal in women’s team event, Silver medal in women’s double event, bronze in women’s single event.
Manika Batra Biography: Records
- India’s Top Ranked Female Table Tennis Player – 2018.
- First Indian to be awarded by The Break Through Star Award – 2018.
- First Indian table tennis female individual player to win a gold medal at Commonwealth games 2018.
Manika Batra Biography: Tokyo Olympics 2020
Manika Batra Olympics: Manika Batra represented India in Tokyo Olympics 2020 where he lost in the 3rd round to Sofia Polcanova of Austria. She had earlier represented India in Olympics 2016 as well.
Manika Batra Biography: Social Media
- Manika Batra Instagram – @Manikabatra.15
- Manika Batra Twitter – @manikabatra_TT
- Manika Batra Facebook – Manika Batra
Focusing on the positive, always!✨@manikabatra_TT #manikabatra #tabletennis #Tokyo2020 #achievers pic.twitter.com/McH40q44Ih
— Femina (@FeminaIndia) July 28, 2021