Manika Batra And G Sathiyan Win Mixed Doubles Title In Budapest

Manika Batra and G Sathiyan outplayed Hungary's Dora Madarasz and Nandor Ecseki 3-1 to win the mixed doubles title at the WTT Contender in Budapest.

India's Manika Batra and G Sathiyan outplayed Hungary's Dora Madarasz and Nandor Ecseki 3-1 to win the mixed doubles title at the WTT Contender in Budapest on Friday. They beat the 94th-ranked Hungarian pairing 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, 11-6. It was a memorable win for Manika and Sathiyan, who don't play a lot of mixed doubles together. Manika had won the Asian Games bronze with veteran Sharath Kamal and more recently they played together at the Tokyo Olympics. Sathiyan said it was a tricky final but their toughest challenge came in the quarterfinals when they upset the world number seven duo from Slovakia -- Barbara Balazova and Lubomir Pistej. "It is great that we were able to win the event with very little practice. It certainly shows what we can achieve as a pair. We were quite tactically and seem to complement each other's game. "Manika had me approached for the partnership a while. We both thought it was the best time to give it a shot. She is our best ever female player and we have shown the potential that our partnership has. The more we play the better we get," Sathiyan told PTI.