ITTF World Cup 2025: Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula start off campaign with wins

ANI April 14, 2025 150 views

Two Indian table tennis Olympians, Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula, have started their ITTF World Cup campaign with impressive victories in Macau. Batra convincingly defeated Maylis Giret 4-0, while Akula secured a 3-1 win against Constantina Psihogios. Both players now face challenging opponents in their upcoming group stage matches. India hopes to achieve its first-ever medal in this prestigious international tournament.

"India aims for first-ever medal in the ITTF World Cup" - Olympics.com
Macau, April 14: Paris Olympians Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula kickstarted their International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Cup campaign with wins on Monday.

Key Points

1

Manika defeats Maylis Giret 4-0 in decisive group stage match

2

Sreeja Akula beats Constantina Psihogios 3-1

3

Both players advance to challenging next rounds

4

Knockout stage begins Thursday with best-of-seven format

While the world number 30th Manika defeated the world number 186 Maylis Giret of New Caledonia 4-0 (11-1, 11-2, 11-6, 11-4) in the Group 16 match, the world number 34 Akula beat Australia's Constantina Psihogios, 68th in the women's singles table tennis rankings, 3-1 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8, 6-11), as per Olympics.com.

Manika's next challenge will be the Brazil's Bruna Takahashi, while Akula will lock horns with three-time Olympian and current European Games champion Bernadette Szocs of Romania in her final group stage match.

The World Cup is held in two stages, group stage and knockouts. The men's and women's players have been divided into 16 groups featuring three players each and the group toppers will make it to the knockouts.

India does not have any participants in the men's draw.

The group stage matches have four games each and players will be ranked based on the overall win-loss ratio across both fixtures and players with the best ratio in terms of games won across both their matches will qualify for the knockouts.

Manika and Sreeja are the only Indian representatives at the ITTF World Cup.

The knockout stage will kickstart from Thursday and will be held in best-of-seven games. The World Cup will continue on Sunday. India would be aiming for their first-ever medal win in the tournament.

Reader Comments

P
Priya K.
What a dominant performance by Manika! 11-1 in the first game is just 🔥. Hope she carries this momentum against Takahashi next!
R
Rahul S.
Sreeja's match was more competitive but she showed great composure. That loss in the 4th game was just a minor hiccup. Szocs will be a real test though!
A
Anjali M.
While the wins are encouraging, I wish we had more Indian players competing at this level. Our table tennis development programs need more investment.
V
Vikram P.
That 11-1 scoreline though! Manika's backhand was looking lethal today. Fingers crossed for that first World Cup medal 🤞
S
Shreya R.
The group stage format seems interesting but a bit confusing. Hope both our players can top their groups and make it to knockouts!
K
Karan J.
Respectful criticism: I feel the article could've included more details about their playing styles or key moments from the matches. Still, great to see coverage of table tennis!

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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Tags:
ITTF World Cup Manika Batra Sreeja Akula Table Tennis India Olympics Macau Tournament
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