Manika Batra urges Sports ministry intervention after Asian Games snub

India's most recognisable female paddler Manika Batra has sought intervention from Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) after being excluded from the 10-member Indian table tennis squad for the 2026 Asian Games.

Hours after being relegated to the reserves list by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), the Khel Ratna awardee and 2018 Asian Games mixed doubles bronze medallist described her omission as "deeply disheartening".

On social media platform X, the 31-year-old criticised the federation's rigid application of rules, alleging that exceptions were made for other players in identical scenarios during the previous selection cycle.

"My non-selection for the Asian Games 2026 squad is deeply disheartening, with no specific reason communicated," Batra stated.

"Questions arise on consistency, as different thresholds and considerations were applied in the previous selection cycle compared to my case... Any variation in application naturally raises questions of fairness and equal treatment."

Batra claimed not to have demanded special privileges across her two decades of representing India and expects public accountability and selection norms to remain uniform.

She has officially requested that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Sports Ministry review how the selection committee handled her metrics for the 20th Asian Games, which will be held from September 19 to October 4.

The TTFI is yet to comment on the matter, having picked a squad that will be spearheaded by Sreeja Akula, alongside squad members Yashaswini Ghorpade, Diya Chitale, Sutirtha Mukherjee, and Ananya Basak.