Harmeet and Manika get top billing in UTT Senior Nationals

Panchkula, Dec 20: Harmeet Desai, the highest-ranked Indian in the world at No. 75, has got the top billing in men’s singles at the 85th UTT Senior Nationals and Inter-State Table Tennis Championships, beginning here on Thursday.
Manav Thakkar is ranked behind Desai at No. 88 and is seeded second for the championships.
G Sathiyan (89) and A Sharath Kamal (94) follow the two in the world rankings and are seeded third and fourth respectively.
Manika Batra, who would be making her second appearance in the domestic events this year, gets the top billing and is seeded No. 1 among women, having held on to her world rankings. She is at No. 35. Defending champion Sreeja Akula, world No. 88, has been seeded second. But Manika’s entry in the singles raised several eyebrows, as it came after the closing date and the group draw, according to a release. (PTI)