Manika Batra is one of the prominent names in the table tennis world. She has made the country proud on numerous occasion and was focused on the game at a very early age. Manika was born on June 15, 1995, in Delhi to Girish Batra and Sushma Batra. Manika has the distinction of being the first Indian women’s table tennis player to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in an individual event. She is also the first Indian woman table tennis player to win a gold medal. Manika is known to have picked the sport while watching her elder siblings Anchal and Sahil play the game. As Manika celebrates her 25 birthday, we take a look at some of her lesser-known facts and achievements. Manika Batra, CWG 2018 Gold Medal Winner in Table Tennis Was a Model Who Denied Bollywood Career for Sports.

  • Manika Batra was just four years old when she first showed interest in table tennis.

  • At the age of Manika, she won the under-8 state-level tournament.

  • She won a silver medal in the under-21 category of Chile Open.

  • At the 2015 Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships, Manika won three medals (two silver medals in women’s team event and women’s doubles event) and a bronze medal in women’s singles event.

  • At the 2016 South Asian Games, Manika clinched three gold medals (women’s doubles, mixed doubles and women’s team).

  • At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, under Manika, India defeated Singapore women’s team. It was Singapore’s first defeat since the sport was included in the CWG.

  • Manika is the first Indian woman table tennis player to win a CWG gold medal (individual). She achieved the feat in 2018 edition of the games.

  • Also at the CWG 2018, Manika teaming up with Mouma Das won a silver medal in the women’s doubles event.

  • Manika also won a bronze medal at the CWG 2018 in the mixed doubles event.

  • She won a bronze medal with Achanta Sharath Kamal in the mixed doubles category at the Asian Games 2018.

  • In 2018, Manika was honoured with Arjuna Award.

Manika has represented India at the Rio Olympics 2016. The table tennis is expected to represent India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as well, which have been postponed to 2021 due to COVID-19 virus. Manika is currently ranked 63rd in International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 15, 2020 09:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).