After a great performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Sreeja Akula became the best Indian table tennis player ever by becoming world No. 22 in the women’s singles category.
On Tuesday, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Rankings were changed.
In Paris 2024, Akula bowled out Sweden’s No. 58 ranked player at the time. The 64th round saw Christina Kallberg of Sweden beat 52nd-ranked Zeng Jian of Singapore 4-0. The 32nd round saw Zeng Jian beat Christina Kallberg of Sweden 4-0.
They were the first table tennis players from their country to make it to the round of 16 in the Olympics in the individual events. Yet, Akula lost 4-0 to China’s Yingsha Sun, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, in the round of 16.
Akula moved up three spots from where she was before, and Batra also moved up three spots to 25th. Akula’s previous best ranking was world No. 24, which she got when she won the WTT Contender Lagos in June.
Batra made it to the pre-quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 Olympics after beating Prithika Pavade 4-0 in the round of 32. Pavade was ranked 18th in the world at the time. In the round of 16, she lost 4-1 to Miu Hirano, a Japanese player ranked eighth.
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Aside from Sreeja and Manika, no Indian women’s singles table tennis player has ever made it to the top 25. The next best Indian women’s singles player is Sutirtha Mukherjee, who did well at the Olympics in Tokyo and is ranked No. 84 in the world.
But Sutirtha and Ayhika Mukherjee, who are ranked No. 17 in the world, are India’s best women’s doubles team.
The number one ranked men’s singles player in India is now Sharath Kamal, who fell one spot to 41st. At No. 59 in the world, Manav Thakkar is the next best Indian men’s singles player. At No. 64, Sathiyan Gnanasearan comes in. There is 87th Harmeet Desai.
Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah are India’s best-ranked men’s doubles pair, ranked 16th in the world. There is only one other Indian pair in the top 16 in the world, and that’s Diya Chitale and Manush Shah.
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