Manika Batra
Indian athletes are performing very well in Olympics 2024. Although India has won only one medal so far, India has been doing well in many sports and medals are expected. In this episode, Indian women’s table tennis player Manika Batra has also created history with her brilliant performance. She defeated the world’s 18th ranked player at the Paris Olympics on Monday. By defeating this French player, she has qualified for the Round of 16 i.e. pre-quarterfinals. She has also become the first Indian female player to do so. She has registered an easy 4-0 win over Prithika Pawade of France.
Manika looked very happy after the victory
29-year-old Manika dominated from start to finish and won 11-9 11-6 11-9 11-7 over Indian-origin Prithika. It became one of the most memorable matches for an Indian table tennis player in Olympic history. Manika had reached the round of 32 at the Tokyo Olympics and she improved that performance on Monday. Speaking to PTI after this historic match, Manika Batra said, “I am happy that I defeated a French player in Paris. I defeated a high-ranked player. I did not think of creating history and making it to the pre-quarterfinals, there are still more rounds, I will keep moving forward match by match and give my best as always.”
Manika’s special plan
Manika entered the court with a special plan against the French player. Manika’s move to attack Preethika’s backhand proved to be very effective, but she had not made this strategy before the match. She said that I had planned to play on her forehand as per the discussion with my coach, but I was getting points on her backhand, so I did not change the strategy. I also played some shots on her forehand, I did not want her to think that I was playing only on her backhand. It was a tough match. Staying calm helps me both inside and outside the court. I do breathing exercises which help me during the match. Regarding the next match, she said that whoever I play against in the next round, I will give my best performance.
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