Wiser after her first appearance at the Tokyo Olympics, Indian table tennis star Manika Batra said on Monday that she is focused on taking one match at a time at the upcoming Paris Games and a medal will not be on her mind in the initial rounds.
Preparing for the Paris Olympics alongside her teammates, Batra said she has learned from her experience at the Tokyo Games.
“I have learnt a lot from the last Olympics and I am not going to repeat those mistakes. My mindset has changed since then, I am calmer and more confident in myself,” Batra said during an interview with Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT).
“I’ve been working on my endurance and agility, and my ultimate goal is to fight for a medal.
“But I will take it slow. I will try to be in that zone and give my best. I will take it round by round and not think too soon about a medal. I will give my best for my country,” added Batra, who represents PBG Bengaluru Smashers in UTT.
Batra was instrumental in the women’s team qualifying for the Paris Olympics, a first for Indian table tennis.
She also reached the quarter-finals of the WTT Saudi Smash in May, beating world No. 2 and former world champion Wang Manyu of China and world No. 14 Nina Mittelham of Germany.
“India has qualified for the first time (for the Olympics), it is a great achievement. I am very happy with the way we are working together (in the camp). I think we have a chance to win a medal and we should give our best,” Batra said.
“The growth of women’s table tennis in India is really inspiring. I see many of my teammates playing very well. Everyone in the team is motivated and trains very hard. Women’s table tennis in India will continue to grow,” she said.
Speaking about the growth of women’s table tennis in India, world number 28 Batra praised UTT, which has provided young players with a platform to rub shoulders with foreign stars and gain exposure.
“UTT helped us a lot because we can practice with foreign players and play matches (against them). We have good match practice,” Batra said.
India will compete in the individual and team events of table tennis in Paris.
After the Olympics, star Indian rowers including Batra, Sharath Kamal, Sreeja Akula and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran will join world top players such as World No.10 Bernadette Szocs and Nigerian legend Quadri Aruna at the UTT 2024, scheduled to be held in Chennai from August 22 to September 7.
