Panaji: This is Manika Batra 2.0.
At the Commonwealth Games 2022, India’s top-ranked table tennis player returned empty-handed, unable to retain any of the four medals she had won four years ago. Questions were being asked about her form and temperament, but since that disappointing campaign in Birmingham, Batra has turned a corner.
Nowhere was this better dramatised than at the WTT Star Contender Goa as Batra, ranked world number 34, won her singles, doubles and mixed doubles games on the opening day of the main draw at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium in Taleigao.
“I am really happy with the wins, starting with the singles when I was a bit under pressure at the start due to the home crowd,” Batra told TOI on Wednesday. “After the first game, I was okay, and I think I played well in all three games. The mixed doubles was the toughest. We have lost twice against them and this was a much-needed win.”
Batra’s opening day show follows an impressive showing in the Asia Cup last year where she became the first Indian woman to win a medal and recently made it to the penultimate round at WTT Contender Doha in January.
“After the CWG, I was really down, but then I motivated myself, practised and trained well with my sparring partner,” Batra said on Wednesday. “At the Asia Cup, I was really playing with a lot of confidence. I’ve not been thinking of a win or loss, just giving my best for every point.”
In singles, Batra swept aside the challenge of England’s Tin-Tin Ho 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 in quick time and then, partnering Archana Kamath, won the women’s doubles against Hong Kong pair of Li Ching Wan and Zhu Chengzhu 3-2.
It was a stunning turnaround.
Having lost the first two sets, the Indian pair turned the match on its head to take the game into the decider. They led 10-4, but the opponents tied the game at 10-10 before Manika forced two errors from the visitors to wrap up the set and the match.
“It was a little difficult, but I still feel we were making the right choices up until they reached 10-10,” said Archana. “Manika ji being a very experienced player, she is composed in these situations and that helped in the end.”
Manika saved her best for the last in mixed doubles where she partnered G Sathiyan to oust Korean pair of Shin Yubin and Lim Jonghoon 3-1.
“I would rate this as one of the best ever mixed doubles win,” said Sathiyan. “They are a very solid pair, technically quite strong, and they’ve been winning back-to-back tournaments in WTT events. To beat a very strong Korean pair is one of the best wins for us.”
Earlier, India’s day at the WTT Star Contender started on a disappointing note as Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal succumbed to the might of Korea’s Cho Seungmin and An Jaehyun.
Sathiyan and Sharath lost the first two sets, and even though they won the third and seemed to gain momentum, they eventually ran out of steam.
“It was a tough match, maybe (because) we have not been playing together for a long time and the focus is mostly on mixed doubles. Credit to the Korean pair, they have been playing together and came up with some amazing shots. Had we put pressure in the beginning, we could have turned it around,” said Sathiyan.
Sathiyan later put it across Harmeet Desai in a tough four-setter to make it to the round of 32, while in the women’s section, Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee booked their place with comparative ease.
Meanwhile, Sutirtha won both her games, emerging triumphant in women’s singles and doubles, while Harmeet and Manav Thakkar knocked out Ronit Bhanja and Jeet Chandra 3-2 to book a quarterfinal clash against Korean pair of Lim Jonghoon and Jang Woojin.
At the Commonwealth Games 2022, India’s top-ranked table tennis player returned empty-handed, unable to retain any of the four medals she had won four years ago. Questions were being asked about her form and temperament, but since that disappointing campaign in Birmingham, Batra has turned a corner.
Nowhere was this better dramatised than at the WTT Star Contender Goa as Batra, ranked world number 34, won her singles, doubles and mixed doubles games on the opening day of the main draw at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium in Taleigao.
“I am really happy with the wins, starting with the singles when I was a bit under pressure at the start due to the home crowd,” Batra told TOI on Wednesday. “After the first game, I was okay, and I think I played well in all three games. The mixed doubles was the toughest. We have lost twice against them and this was a much-needed win.”
Batra’s opening day show follows an impressive showing in the Asia Cup last year where she became the first Indian woman to win a medal and recently made it to the penultimate round at WTT Contender Doha in January.
“After the CWG, I was really down, but then I motivated myself, practised and trained well with my sparring partner,” Batra said on Wednesday. “At the Asia Cup, I was really playing with a lot of confidence. I’ve not been thinking of a win or loss, just giving my best for every point.”
In singles, Batra swept aside the challenge of England’s Tin-Tin Ho 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 in quick time and then, partnering Archana Kamath, won the women’s doubles against Hong Kong pair of Li Ching Wan and Zhu Chengzhu 3-2.
It was a stunning turnaround.
Having lost the first two sets, the Indian pair turned the match on its head to take the game into the decider. They led 10-4, but the opponents tied the game at 10-10 before Manika forced two errors from the visitors to wrap up the set and the match.
“It was a little difficult, but I still feel we were making the right choices up until they reached 10-10,” said Archana. “Manika ji being a very experienced player, she is composed in these situations and that helped in the end.”
Manika saved her best for the last in mixed doubles where she partnered G Sathiyan to oust Korean pair of Shin Yubin and Lim Jonghoon 3-1.
“I would rate this as one of the best ever mixed doubles win,” said Sathiyan. “They are a very solid pair, technically quite strong, and they’ve been winning back-to-back tournaments in WTT events. To beat a very strong Korean pair is one of the best wins for us.”
Earlier, India’s day at the WTT Star Contender started on a disappointing note as Sathiyan and Sharath Kamal succumbed to the might of Korea’s Cho Seungmin and An Jaehyun.
Sathiyan and Sharath lost the first two sets, and even though they won the third and seemed to gain momentum, they eventually ran out of steam.
“It was a tough match, maybe (because) we have not been playing together for a long time and the focus is mostly on mixed doubles. Credit to the Korean pair, they have been playing together and came up with some amazing shots. Had we put pressure in the beginning, we could have turned it around,” said Sathiyan.
Sathiyan later put it across Harmeet Desai in a tough four-setter to make it to the round of 32, while in the women’s section, Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee booked their place with comparative ease.
Meanwhile, Sutirtha won both her games, emerging triumphant in women’s singles and doubles, while Harmeet and Manav Thakkar knocked out Ronit Bhanja and Jeet Chandra 3-2 to book a quarterfinal clash against Korean pair of Lim Jonghoon and Jang Woojin.