During the Saudi Smash 2024 tournament, Manika Batra defeated world No. 2 and former world champion Wang Manyu from China, advancing to the round of 16. This victory was considered the biggest achievement of her career. Prior to this, she defeated world No. 57 Andreea Dragoman of Romania in the opening round.

Manika is set to face Japan’s world No. 5 Hina Hayata in the quarters on Thursday, a former Asian champion and multiple World Championships medallist. The two players have met three times before, with Hayata winning twice.

After losing her position as the top-ranked women’s singles player in India to Sreeja Akula, Manika’s recent performances are expected to not only raise her to her highest ranking but also reclaim her spot as India’s No. 1 table tennis player. Her best singles ranking so far is 33, achieved in the early part of last year.

The Saudi Smash event is set to conclude on Saturday with Manika being the only Indian table tennis player remaining in the competition after Sharath Kamal and Sreeja Akula were eliminated in the first round of the men’s and women’s singles, respectively, and the men’s doubles team of Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah, and the women’s doubles team of Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee were both defeated in the second round, while Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade were knocked out in the quarter-finals.