Female paddler Manika Batra eyes Vijayawada glory

Vijayawada:  India's top-ranked female paddler Manika Batra will be the cynosure of all eyes at the National Ranking (South Zone) Table Tennis Championships, beginning at the Municipal Indoor Hall here on Thursday.

She will have the company of the rest of the men and women squads in the contest, which will see Kamal and G Sathiyan missing out citing personal reasons.

The participation of Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar is a plus and makes the competition fierce and healthy.