Batra to lead Indian paddlers’ challenge

Paddler Manika Batra will lead the Indian girls team in the South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships while boys’ challenge will be spearheaded by national champion Abhishek Yadav in the regional tournament to be played in Delhifrom July 20-22.

The championships will be played in two categories — junior and sub-junior. Six nations,including the hosts,will be participating in the tournament to be staged at the Indira Gandhi Stadium. Other teams in the competition are Pakistan,Sri Lanka,Nepal,Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Sutirtha Mukherjee,who won the Slovak Junior ITTF Open last month,will also be a part of formidable Indian challenge.The winner and runner-up of the team competition will qualify for the Asian Juniors in Doha,Qatar in September.