No Manika Batra-Sathiyan mixed doubles team for Asian table tennis Championships

The Indian mixed doubles pairing of Manika Batra and Sathiyan Ganasekaran recently won the WTT Contender Championship in Budapest. However, they will not be in action at the Asian Table Tennis Championships as Manika has not been included in the Indian squad.

Manika was left out because she did not join the mandatory national camp in Sonepat. The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) had recently stated that only players who attend the national camps will be eligible to represent the nation in international events. The team was picked on Wednesday and subsequently published on the TTFI website.

Manika's omission comes at a time when she is in a long-standing feud with the federation. In Manika Batra’s absence, Sutirtha Mukherjee will lead the women’s team. The other members in the squad are Ayhika Mukherjee (ranked 131) and Archana Kamath (132).

Manika Batra had reportedly informed the table tennis federation that she would like to continue training with her personal coach in Pune. The Asian Games gold medalist has also accused national coach Soumydeep Roy of allegedly asking her to throw a match during the Olympic qualifiers. The table tennis formed an inquiry panel to probe the match-fixing allegations.

Sathiyan, Desai and Sutirtha joined the national camp late due to different reasons. Sathiyan was playing in Poland, Harmeet was in Germany while Sutirtha had a fever.

Sharath Kamal to lead men’s table tennis team

Veteran Sharath Kamal (ranked 33) will lead the men’s challenge. He will be joined by Gnansekharan Sathiyan (38), Harmanpreet Desai (72), Manav Thakkar (134) and Sanil Shetty (247). With powerhouse China not taking part in the Asian meet, India’s chances for a medal in men’s team event have increased.

Men's team: Manav Thakkar, Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty.

Men's doubles: Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan; Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai.

Women's team: Sutirtha Mukherjee, Sreeja Akula, Ayhika Mukherjee, Archana Kamath.

Women's doubles: Archana Kamath and Sreeja Akula; Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee.

Mixed doubles: Manav Thakkar and Archana Kamath; Harmeet Desai and Sreeja Akula.