CHENNAI: In June, Manika Batra and Mouma Das created history by becoming the first Indian pair to make it to the quarterfinals of the World Championships. However, they had received a walkover from their opponents Li Jie and Li Qian. A few days back, they reached the semifinals of the Bulgaria Open to answer a few doubts about the World Championships being a fluke. While the men have been slightly more successful, recent wins in major events has put the spotlight on women as well.
This has been a mixed year for Manika — India’s top-ranked woman paddler. Despite reaching the knockout stages at two international events, her singles ranking which was around the mid-80s at the start of the year has gone above 100 and has remained so, for some time. During the Ultimate Table Tennis League first leg in Chennai, with lots of offers coming up, Manika had told Express about her ambitions of playing in a European league.
But that plan has been put on hold, for the time being. “I need to improve my rankings. From next year, the ranking system is changing. Now, it’s not just about how many pro tour events we play. If we are able to better our earlier performances and progress to the knockout rounds each time, we get more points and that will benefit the Indian players a lot,” Manika said.
Manika had planned to test her mettle in one of the competitive leagues abroad, as very few Indian paddlers do that. Especially women, with some of them too young and the seniors citing family and personal reasons to stay put. But the 22-year-old understands that she needs to get out of her comfort zone to beat the best.
With the Commonwealth Games happening in Gold Coast, Australia, next year, exposure from playing in foreign conditions and against the best would have helped. But right now, the national camps are better for India as they get a chance to stay together and play. “I have to work on my ranking separately. Right now, in doubles, we have a good team. We need to carry that momentum forward and try to win a medal. So the national camps give us an opportunity to do that.
“Also, before an event, some of these camps happen at the respective venues or some other country. That helps us get familiar with conditions. National coach Massimo Costantini is highly experienced and knows many of the players that we might face. That helps too,” Manika concluded.
vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com