Sathiyan surpasses Sharath to become highest-ranked Indian at 28, Manika breaks into top-50

NEW DELHI: Leading Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran on Wednesday rose to a career-high 28 in the world rankings while compatriot Manika Batra became the first female from the country to break into the top-50.
Sathiyan gained three spots to achieve a new career-high ranking while Batra moved up four spots to be 47th.
Veteran Sharath Kamal, who was conferred with the Padma Shri last week, dropped three places to be 33rd in the men's singles standings.
Indian table tennis experienced a historic 2018 when the men's team won the country's first medal at the Asian Games to end a 60-year-wait. Later in the competition held in Jakarta, Sharath and Batra combined to win a second bronze for India to cap off a memorable Asia campaign.