'Dissatisfied' Manika guns for more glory

Manika Batra seems to have put behind a particularly torrid year and has returned to form with a series of impressive performances this season, including a pre-quarterfinal finish in the highly-contested WTT Star Contender in Ljubljana (Slovenia) last week. 

But the top-ranked Indian table tennis player, who stunned world number 15 Chen I-Ching in the aforementioned tournament en route to the last-16 stage, insisted that she is not satisfied with her progress. 

“I have done well the last few tournaments, but I am not satisfied, actually I am never satisfied (laughs), but that’s what makes me me. I don’t think I will be satisfied even if I become world No.20 or world No.10,” Manika told DH. “I am somewhat happy with my progress but this is just the beginning.

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“Also, defeating Chen was a big deal for me because I had lost to her badly in Macau recently. That victory gave me a lot of confidence,” she added. 

Manika, who is leading the Punit Balan-owned Bengaluru Smashers team in the Ultimate Table Tennis league, said the franchise-based league will not only improve the quality of table tennis in the country but also give Asian Games-bound paddlers a chance to work on some of the finer aspects before the September 23 event. 

“Of course, it has been a tiring few months for me because I have played three tournaments back-to-back, and it was a little exhausting but no complaints,” said the world No.38 from Delhi. “I have some time to recover now, and this tournament also helps us work on some of our skills because the level of competition is so intense.”

Manika did, however, reveal that she wouldn’t be tweaking her game with the Asiad a little over one month away. 

“I am working on my attack and variations with my backhand return, but honestly, I can’t change a lot of things this close to a big tournament,” she said. “What I can do is work on the mental aspect of things.”

When asked about the strategies table tennis players utilise to get through their mental struggles, the Asian Games bronze medallist said: “Mental fitness is the most important thing at our level. Everyone does fitness and are fit but to be unshakable mentally is far more important. For that, you need to do a lot of introspection and meditation and have a good visual sense of the game.”

“It’s because of my mental strength I was able to pull through those back-to-back tournaments, I would fight for every point even when I was tired,” she added. 

Talking about her mixed-doubles partnership with G Sathiyan, she said: “We have a great understanding. He knows how to play with me despite me using a different rubber (long pimple rubber). 

“I am happy with our partnership but let’s see how it goes as we approach the Asian Games and the Olympics,” she noted with a hint of apprehension.