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After dip in form, Manika Batra looks to return stronger

Mumbai | ByRutvick Mehta
Sep 18, 2020 07:14 PM IST

Filled with “a sense of pride and honour” the moment she stood in front of the camera to receive her award virtually, Batra has a brief response to the people who have questioned her Khel Ratna nomination for the same 2018 achievements that earned her the Arjuna Award that year.

Manika Batra has seen a lot of ups and downs in the last couple of years. After enjoying a stellar 2018 that sprung her to the status of the next big thing in Indian table tennis, her form has dipped. Away from the table, however, she has continued to bag accolades. Last month, she became the country’s first ever paddler to be conferred with the Khel Ratna award.

At just 25, winning India’s highest sporting honour can either propel or burden the young shoulders of a player who is yet to fully stamp her mark on the professional table tennis tour. Batra looks at it positively. “It is inspiring to be a Khel Ratna at this age but I don’t think there is any burden of responsibility as such. The responsibility is to keep performing well and win medals for the country but that is something I have always loved to do,” she said from Pune.

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Filled with “a sense of pride and honour” the moment she stood in front of the camera to receive her award virtually, Batra has a brief response to the people who have questioned her Khel Ratna nomination for the same 2018 achievements that earned her the Arjuna Award that year. “I think recognition comes after you have achieved something,” she said.

“I’m obviously really proud of it. I believe this award not only inspires me to work harder and faster towards my goals as a table tennis player but may inspire the younger generation to pursue their ambitions.”

Make no mistake, her 2018 season was a watershed one not just for herself but for Indian table tennis in general: four medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (singles and team gold, doubles silver, mixed doubles bronze) and an even more commendable and historic mixed doubles bronze with the veteran Sharath Kamal at the Jakarta Asian Games.

It helped bring the sport in the spotlight in India, though Batra’s own performances have faded a touch since. After becoming the first Indian woman table tennis player to break into the top 50 of the world rankings in February 2019, Batra has seen a gradual downward curve in both her rankings and form.

She also split with her childhood coach Sandeep Gupta in New Delhi and shifted base to Pune to train with Sanmay Paranjape last year. Her unique pimpled rubber play with the backhand—with which she stunned some of the top players including multiple time Olympic medallist Feng Tianwei of Singapore at the 2018 CWG—is no longer a big surprise weapon for her opponents.

“There is no particular reason for that (dip in form). Yes, I have made a few mistakes in some events but that’s just part of any athlete’s career. I have only learnt from them and tried to improve. It’s a constant process of improving on a daily basis,” Batra said.

Did being in the limelight after her 2018 exploits become a bit too unnerving for the youngster? “Not at all,” Batra said. “2018 was an amazing year for me and I tried to carry the momentum forward. I think it’s important to always improve and march on. I can’t rest on my laurels.”

It hasn’t been a constant slide, though. Batra made it to the Round of 32 at the ITTF Word Tour German Open last October that helped arrest her rankings dip and went a step further to the Round of 16 at the Hungarian Open in February earlier this year before the pandemic halted the ITTF tour.

The current world No 63 though couldn’t lead the women’s team to a berth at the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics in a qualification tournament in Portugal prior to that.

Batra remains confident of turning the tide soon, having worked on her physical fitness in Pune during the nationwide lockdown and jotting down notes from her past matches. “I feel like I am getting closer to what I expect of myself as a player. I have gradually worked on my game and tried to get back to my normal standards. I have analysed my past matches and noted down things that I need to improve upon. Those matches have also shown the positives that I need to keep in my game. Gradually, I think results will be seen soon,” she said.

Batra aims to reach her peak well before the Olympics next year to give her best shot in Tokyo. “The Tokyo Olympics is obviously the main target for 2021 but I would like to reach my peak before that with some good performances in tournaments in the run up to it,” she said.

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