Manika Batra left out of India’s Asian Games Table Tennis main squad, Ayhika Mukherjee misses out

India’s most decorated women’s table tennis player, Manika Batra, has been left out of the main squad for the 2026 Asian Games after failing to satisfy the selection criteria laid down by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI).

The 30-year-old, who won a historic mixed doubles bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games and has multiple Commonwealth Games medals to her name, was named among the reserve players for the continental event scheduled in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.

According to TTFI, selections were made based on a policy introduced in 2023, which allocates 50 per cent weightage to national rankings, 40 per cent to world rankings and the remaining 10 per cent to the discretion of the selection committee.

Despite being India’s second-highest ranked women’s player at World No. 51, behind Sreeja Akula at No. 45, Manika’s absence from domestic tournaments meant she did not feature prominently in the national rankings, affecting her overall selection score.

Sreeja Akula to lead the Women’s Squad

Sreeja Akula headlines the women’s squad, which also includes Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Syndrela Das. Swastika Ghosh joins Manika Batra on the reserve list.

The men’s team will be led by experienced paddlers G. Sathiyan and Harmeet Desai. They will be joined by Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah and rising youngster Payas Jain, who earned selection following strong performances on the domestic and international circuits.

Ankur Bhattacharjee and Ronit Bhanja have been named as reserves for the men’s team.

The omission of Ayhika Mukherjee, a key member of India’s bronze medal-winning women’s team at the 2023 Asian Games, is another notable development from the selection announcement.

India Table Tennis Squad for Asian Games 2026

Men: G. Sathiyan, Manav Thakkar, Manush Shah, Payas Jain, Harmeet Desai

Women: Sreeja Akula, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee, Syndrela Das

Reserves: Manika Batra, Swastika Ghosh, Ankur Bhattacharjee, Ronit Bhanja

The table tennis competition at the Asian Games will be held from September 20 to 28.