India’s table tennis rising pair of G Sathiyan and Manika Batra beats Nandor Ecseki and Dora Madarasz 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6 to clinch the mixed doubles title at World Table Tennis Tour Contender Budapest 2021 on Friday. Manika and Sathiyan became the first Indian mixed pair to win an international world Tour title at Budapest.
Sathiyan and Manika came into the finals with a great run in the tournament. They defeated Aleksandr Khanin and Daria Trigolos of Belarus (11-6,11-5,11-4) in the semis. The Indian pair faced the toughest challenge in the quarterfinals. They overcame the challenge and registered a fabulous victory. Manika and Sathiyan stunned the World No. 7 and the top-seeded duo of Barbora Balazova and Lubomir Pistej from Slovakia 11-4, 3-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-9 in the quarterfinals.
Manika and Sathiyan paired for the first time since 2018
It was a memorable win for Batra and Sathiyan, who have reunited for the first time after three years. The duo will look to continue their partnership for the Paris Olympics in 2024. The Indian duo last played together in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Manika had paired with Sharath at the 2018 Asian Games where they won the bronze medal. They also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics but failed in the first round.
“It is great that we were able to win the event with very little practice. It certainly shows what we can achieve as a pair. We were quite tactically and seem to complement each other’s game,” Sathiyan told PTI.
“Manika had me approached for the partnership. We both thought it was the best time to give it a shot. She is our best-ever female player and we have shown the potential that our partnership has. The more we play the better we get,” he added.
Manika also reached the semi-finals of the women’s singles tournament. However, she lost to Russian paddler Elizabet Abraamian in the semis.