Manika Batra has been left out of the main squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. India’s star table tennis player has been named only as a reserve, sparking debate over the Table Tennis Federation of India’s (TTFI) selection process.
Despite being in the reserve team, she did not feature in the main event at the multi-sport event in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. The 31-year-old, a three-time Olympian and multiple Commonwealth Games gold medallist, is currently ranked World No. 51. She trails only Sreeja Akula among Indian women in the international rankings.
Why is star player Manika Batra not in India's Asian Games 2026 squad?
Despite her pedigree and past successes, including a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games, Batra missed the cut for the five-member women’s team. TTFI selection criteria give 50 per cent weight to national rankings, 40 per cent to world rankings, and 10 per cent to the selection committee’s discretion, as per reports.
Batra has not featured in the national rankings since 2023 because she prioritised international tournaments and limited her participation in domestic events. An automatic berth was available only for players inside the ITTF world top 50 at the time of finalisation in June; she fell just outside that mark.
The women’s main squad comprises Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Syndrela Das. Batra and Swastika Ghosh were named reserves. The men’s team is led by G Sathiyan, alongside Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah and Payas Jain.
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