Table Tennis: Manav Thakkar reaches career high world rank; third Indian men's singles to break into top 35

As per the latest men’s rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) for the 46th week of 2025, the 25-year-old from Gujarat climbed to World No. 35, a three-place jump from the previous list.

With this achievement, Manav joins the elite company of India’s top paddlers – A Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan, Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra– who have previously breached the top-35 mark in the global standings.

Manav has had a remarkable 2025, engaging in a series of closely contested matches against some of the world’s leading players.

He recorded notable wins over Korea’s Lim Jonghoon in WTT Star Contender in Chennai, a former top-15 player, and world no. 23 Shinozuka Hiroto of Japan in the Europe Smash along with narrow losses to World No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto and World No. 16 An Jaehyun Korea in other WTT matches.

Currently recuperating from the viral infection at his home in Surat, Manav said he is not thinking too far ahead and is only focusing on winning matches in every tournament he enters in and continuing with his process of growing and getting better.

"When I was junior world no 1 in U-18 and U-21, I had a vision to get better in all aspects during my transition to the seniors. I started as world no. 150 back in 2021, was ranked 60 at the beginning of 2025 and I will finish this year inside the top 35, hopefully. The exposure I got after playing for India regularly, experience of Paris Olympics 2024 and breaking the fear barrier has made me the player I am today," the bespectacled Manav said.

"I have recovered well from the infection and have time to prepare for the last international assignment, Oman WTT Star Contender. I am home after a long time due to the sickness, a break that I didn’t want but has helped me in many ways. I hope I can give my best in Oman," he signed off.