Manika Batra made history by becoming the first Indian table tennis player to reach the top eight at the WTT Champions Montpellier 2024 tournament in France. However, she lost 3-0 to China’s Qian Tianyi in the quarter-finals.

Ranked 30th in the world, Batra secured her spot in the quarters with a 3-1 upset over world No. 14 Bernadette Szocs of Romania. She began her campaign in Montpellier with a 3-0 win over Lily Zhang of the USA, followed by her victory over Szocs.

Earlier this year, Batra also defeated Szocs 3-0 during India’s 3-2 win over Romania in the women’s team event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. However, she struggled against world No. 21 Tianyi, who had recently defeated top seed Wang Yidi, the world No. 4.