Haikou, China : India’s table tennis contingent faces a stern test at the 2026 ITTF-ATTU Asian Cup, with a depleted squad drawn against some of the world’s top-ranked players in the group stage. Led by Manika Batra, India will compete in Haikou with just five paddlers after several key names withdrew despite qualifying.
In women’s singles, Manika Batra finds herself in Group 1 alongside world No. 1 Sun Yingsha (China), plus Ye Yi-Tian (Chinese Taipei) and Zaza Hend (Syria) — making her path to the knockouts highly competitive . Fellow Indian Swastika Ghosh has an equally tough assignment in Group 6, facing Miwa Harimoto (Japan, world No. 6) and higher-ranked rivals.
On the men’s side, Akash Pal opens his campaign against world No. 1 Wang Chuqin (China) in Group 1, while also battling Feng Yi-Hsin and Mohammed Abdulwahab . Snehit Suravajjula must take on world No. 2 Lin Shidong, and young prospect Ankur Bhattacharjee faces strong competition from Chen Yuanyu (China) and Togami Shunsuke (Japan).
Only the top two players from each group will progress to the Round of 16, raising the stakes for every match. With multiple world-class opponents in their path, Indian paddlers will need both precision and composure to stay in contention.
“It’s a tough road, but this is the level where breakthroughs are made,” analysts noted during previews.
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