Manika Batra and G Sathiyan in focus at WTT Star Contender Budapest 2022
A file image of Manika Batra.
|(Twitter)
With the CWG 2022 less than three weeks away, Indian paddlers will attempt to hone their skills in the WTT Star Contender Budapest 2022, which begins on Monday. Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, Sharath Kamal, and G Sathiyan, CWG-bound players, will participate in the WTT Star Contender in Budapest.
India's lone straight entrant into the men's singles main draw is world No. 35 Sathiyan Gnanasekaran. Sharath Kamal, world No. 39, will have to grind to the top from the qualifying rounds in Budapest. The top two Indian men's players, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Sharath Kamal will also compete in the doubles event.
Indian table tennis champion Manika Batra, rated 41st, is in the main draw of singles and will play in the women's doubles alongside Archana Kamath. Manika and Archana, who are ranked fourth in the world, earned bronze at the WTT Star Contender Doha earlier this year. Manika Batra and G Sathiyan, India's mixed doubles duo, have the highest chance of winning a medal in Budapest. The mixed doubles team is rated sixth in the world and will compete in WTT Star Contender Budapest 2022 as the fourth seed.
The pair will also be India's strongest medal prospects in the Commonwealth Games 2022, which will be held in Birmingham, United Kingdom, from July 28 to August 8. Harmeet Desai, Sanil Shetty, Diya Chitale, and Reeth Rishya, the four remaining members of India's CWG-bound squad, will not compete in Budapest.
Except for mixed doubles, the main draw matches for men's and women's singles and doubles will begin on Wednesday. On Monday and Tuesday, qualifying will be held. The WTT Star Contender Budapest 2022 competition will end on July 23.
