New Delhi, May 14 (IANS): India's best paddler, Manika Batra says she feels ‘very proud’ after breaking into the top 25 and achieving a career-best ranking just months before the Olympic Games. Batra on Tuesday achieved a new career-high ranking of World No. 24 in the latest ITTF Rankings. Manika jumped 15 places from No. 39 to become world No. 24. Moreover, she reclaimed her India No. 1 place from Sreeja Akula.

The 25-year-old paddler has become the first Indian woman to break into the top 25 singles rankings. She also matched the world No. 24 ranking achieved by Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (currently world no. 65) in 2019, which is the highest rank attained by an Indian in singles.

“It is indeed a very proud moment for me. To break into the top 25 and achieve my career-best ranking just months before the Olympic Games is definitely a very potent boost to my preparations,” said Manika Batra.

“I am truly honoured to have achieved this feat and it is incredibly fulfilling to see all my hard work and efforts pay off. As I look ahead to Paris 2024, I'm motivated more than ever to continue this performance and move upward in the ranking to make my country proud. I really want to thank God for the blessings that helped me to give my best performance at the highest level. Improvement is a continuous process, and I am committed to it.”

Manika's ranking jump came on the back of her quarterfinal finish in the Saudi Smash event last week, where she registered an upset win over top Chinese player and Olympic medallist World No. 2, Wang Manyu in the round of 32. She then defeated World No. 14 Nina Mittelham of Germany to make it to the quarterfinal, where Manika eventually lost to World No.5 Hina Hayata of Japan.