Manika Batra keeps hopes alive in ITTF Table Tennis World Cup

Three-time Olympian Manika Batra registered a gritty 3-2 win over USA’s Lily Zhang to stay in contention for a place in the knockouts of the ITTF Table Tennis World Cup in Macau on Tuesday (March 31, 2026).

The 30-year-old Batra rallied past Zhang 11-7, 11-2, 14-16, 5-11, 11-6 in a 43-minute Group 4 clash, bouncing back from her opening match defeat to Japan’s Miwa Harimoto.

In another match, world No. 43 Sreeja Akula suffered a 1-3 (11-8, 9-11, 13-15, 8-11) loss to Portugal’s Fu Yu in her Group 2 opener. She will next face China’s world No. 2 Wang Manyu on Wednesday (April 1, 2026).

In the men’s draw, Manav Thakkar faces a must-win situation against Sweden’s Olympic silver medallist Truls Moregard in Group 2 after going down 0-3 to Korea’s Park Ganghyeon in his opening match.