'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' Award For India's Manika Batra

Manika Batra's historic feat at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and the recent Asian Games performance has given India’s table tennis poster girl a new stardom.

Indian superstar Manika Batra wins the 2018 Breakthrough Star award presented by Monday Club at the Incheon 2018 #ITTFStarAwards! #Congrats pic.twitter.com/sspTI5RK1q

— ITTF World (@ittfworld) December 12, 2018

On Dec 12, Manika became the first Indian ever to win a 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' award at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Star Awards in Incheon, South Korea

"I am really honoured and happy to have received the award. I feel 2018 has been the best year of my career so far and I am happy for what I have achieved. I would like to thank the Government, the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and most importantly, my family, who has been there for me and motivated me along this journey," Manika Batra said at the ceremony.

Thank you @ittfworld for acknowledging my efforts and giving me the Breakthrough Star Award 2018. Thanks to @sandeepgupta_tt @MorSubodh @ttfitweet @Media_SAI @IndiaSports @IndianOilcl, my family and all well-wishers for all the support. I will continue to keep striving forward🙏 pic.twitter.com/NxCL9fIhuL

— Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) December 12, 2018

Also Read: Does India take its sportswomen seriously?

Key Takeaways:

• Manika Batra is honoured with the 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' award
• Manika is an Asiad champion and Arjuna Awardee. She is the first Indian woman to win a singles gold in table tennis at the Commonwealth Games.
• India salutes the champ for her stupendous performances throughout the year after guiding the Indian women’s team to a historic gold at Gold Coast.
• Recently, Manika also reached her career-best ranking of 52 and became India's highest ranked female table tennis player.

At Gold Coast, Manika scripted history as the first Indian woman to bag the gold medal in the table tennis singles final. She won each competition with grit and determination and became an overnight sensation. Manika also secured a women’s doubles silver alongside Mouma Das and mixed doubles bronze with G Sathiyan. She won four medals in the Commonwealth Games and two of them are gold. In the latest, the Delhi girl claimed the women’s title in the National Ranking tournament on July 10. She is the only Indian in the Top-100.

Manika has become Indian sports’ new poster girl

In 2014, Manika had reached the quarterfinals at the Commonwealth Games. A year later, she helped India bag a team silver and women’s doubles silver in the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship. She qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics by winning the South Asia Group qualification tournament.

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