G Sathiyan becomes top-ranked Indian table tennis player of all time

Sathiyan had lost to the legendary Kamal in the national table tennis championship men’s singles final but has impressed over the last year, having also won the Asian Games gold medal in August.

Meanwhile, amongst the women, Indian youngster Manika Batra became the first Indian woman to break into the top-50 rankings of the International Table Tennis Federation.  Batra lost in the semi-finals of the National Championship to fellow youngster Archana Kamath. However, she enjoyed a good run on the international circuit over the last few months which saw her ranking rise from 57 August 2018 to number 47 now.