Congratulations! Manav Thakkar becomes world no.1 in International Table Tennis Federation rankings

News Bharati    04-Jan-2020 08:54:05 AM
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New Delhi, January 4: Young Indian paddler Manav Thakkar today became world no.1 in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings in the Under-21 men's singles category. With this, Thakkar became the fourth Indian to achieve the feat after Harmeet Desai, G Sathiyan and Soumyajit Ghosh. 
 
 
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The 19-year-old Manav Thakkar achieved the top spot after clinching the Under-21 men's singles title at the ITTF Challenge Plus Benemax-Virgo North American Open in Markham, Canada in December last year. Thakkar was also world no. 1 in the Under-18 category in February 2018. He was part of the Indian men's team which won a bronze medal in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
 
"It feels great and I think it’s the perfect start to 2020. I hope I can continue like this and end the year on a high,” says Thakkar. 
 
Among other Indians, G. Sathiyan has managed to retain his 30th spot in the senior category. Achanta Sharath Kamal has climbed a spot to 33rd position. Top woman paddler, Manika Batra was static at the 61st position.
 
Born to Kalpana and Vikash Thakkar, who are both doctors, the youngster grew up playing multiple sports. Till the age of five, he had tried his hand at various sports. Skating and gymnastics ended up shaping him into a table tennis player, the Surat-born paddler revealed.