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Not only did she secure her status as India’s top-ranked player once again, surpassing Sreeja Akula, but at 25 years old, Manika also etched her name in history as the first Indian woman to break into the top 25 singles rankings.
Her achievement mirrors the feat of Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, who reached the same rank in 2019, marking the highest singles ranking attained by an Indian.
Manika’s remarkable rise was fueled by her stellar performance at the Saudi Smash tournament last week, where she orchestrated a stunning upset by defeating the formidable world No. 2 and Olympic medallist Wang Manyu of China. Subsequently, she vanquished Nina Mittelham, ranked 14th globally, to secure a spot in the quarterfinals, where she faced a tough challenge against Hina Hayata of Japan, ultimately finishing her campaign at that stage.
In the men’s singles rankings, Achanta Sharath Kamal, the seasoned campaigner, slipped three places but maintained his status as the highest-ranked Indian at No. 40. Meanwhile, Manav Thakkar and Harmeet Desai occupy the 62nd and 63rd positions, respectively.
Shifting focus to doubles, Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee ascended one spot to claim the 13th position in women’s doubles, whereas Thakkar and Manush Shah dropped three places, settling at 15th in the men’s doubles category.
In mixed doubles, the duo of Manika and Sathiyan holds steady at the 24th spot, despite slipping one position.
