Manika Batra to represent team Asia in inaugural edition of Waldner Cup 2023

Ma Long and Waldner will captain team Asia and team World respectively.

The Waldner Cup an invitational table tennis tournament scheduled to be held from 23-26 November, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. A total of two teams - team World and team Asia are going to participate in the competition. Table tennis legend Jan Ove Waldner from Sweden established the tournament to take the sport to wider audience and make it more popular.

Each team will consist of male and female players and the captain of the teams have the choice to select the players.

Waldner Cup 2023 Squads

Team Asia: Ma Long (Captain), Kasumi Ishikawa, Chen Meng, Wang Chuqin, Jang Woojin, Manika Batra, Lim Jonghoon

Team World: Jan Ove Waldner (Captain), Timo Boll, Bernadette Szocs, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Alexis and Felix Lebrun, Hugo Calderano, Truls Moregardh, Adriana Diaz

Reigning Olympic champion and Asian Championships 2023 gold medalist, Ma Long, will spearhead the Asian contingent. On the other hand, Jan Ove Waldner will be the non-playing captain for team World who boasts some high quality names from Europe and South America.

Meanwhile, Manika Batra is the lone Indian to be selected for the tournament. She will be playing alongside prominent paddlers like Chen Meng and Kasumi Ishikawa.

The team captain picks which players are set up against the rival team for each match. The scoring system is - one point per win on the first day of the cup, and two points on the second day. The team to reach most points wins the title of the Waldner Cup.

With respect to the table tennis world, currently there is the ongoing European team table tennis championships and the winner gets a direct spot at the Paris Olympics 2024. A few weeks later, the Asian players will seen playing at the Hangzhou Asian Games.