India’s top-ranked women’s singles players, Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra, will lead the Indian challenge at the WTT Champions Frankfurt, beginning November 3, Sunday, at the Suwag Energie Arena in Frankfurt, Germany.
This elite WTT Champions event will bring together the top 32 men’s and women’s singles players from across the globe, offering substantial prize money and ranking points.
The WTT Champions Frankfurt, carrying a prize purse of US$ 500,000, will see only Sreeja and Manika representing India, as no Indian men are ranked in the top 32 of the world, with Archana Sharath Kamal, at World No. 40, is currently the highest ranked Indian male paddler.
Manika will aim to continue her impressive form in the WTT Champions series. Last week in France, she made history at the WTT Champions Montpellier by becoming the first Indian paddler ever to reach the event’s quarterfinals.
Manika defeated then-world No. 14 Bernadette Szocs of Romania 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) to secure her spot in the quarterfinals. She began her campaign in Montpellier with a 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) win over the USA’s Lily Zhang and followed it up with a remarkable 29-minute triumph over Szocs, who was seeded eighth.
This marked Manika’s second consecutive win over Szocs, having also defeated her at the Paris Olympics earlier this year when India defeated Romania 3-2 in the first round.
Manika’s remarkable performance at the WTT Champions Montpellier helped her climb the world rankings from No. 30 to No. 26. In Frankfurt, she will start her campaign against World No. 10 Yubin Shin of South Korea in Round of 32, an opponent who she last met in January at the WTT Contender Doha and lost 0-3.
Meanwhile, Sreeja, currently ranked as India’s highest-ranked paddler at No. 25, will be looking to improve her performance after her first-round exit from the WTT Champions Montpellier. She had lost to then-World No. 13 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico in her opening match.
In Frankfurt, Sreeja faces the challenge of taking on Diaz again in the Round of 32, aiming to avenge her narrow 2-3 loss to the Puerto Rican player. A win for Sreeja could set up a highly anticipated all-India clash – if Manika also wins her opening match.
Sreeja overtook Manika as India’s top-ranked women’s singles player in April this year, following her title-winning performances at the WTT Feeder Corpus Christi, WTT Feeder Beirut II, and WTT Contender Lagos. The outcome of their respective performances in Frankfurt could have significant implications on the world rankings, with Manika on the verge of reclaiming her No. 1 position in India.
Beyond the potential Manika-Sreeja rivalry, the Indian paddlers face a challenging path in Frankfurt, with World No. 3 and second seed Wang Yidi positioned in their half. Sreeja, however, achieved a stunning victory over Yidi earlier this year at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan, offering hope that the Indian players can continue to spring surprises on the global stage.
Live streaming info
The WTT Champions Frankfurt will be streamed on Sonyliv in India.