Paris Olympics 2024: Manika Batra bullish on winning an Olympic medal

India’s second-best female table tennis player Manika Batra said the Indian team has a realistic chance of winning a medal when they compete at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.

India qualified for the team events and Indian players will also be in action in the singles category at the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.

The eight-member Indian contingent, including two reserve players, will be in action at the Paris Olympics. Achanta Sharath Kamal, who is one of India’s flag bearers at the Olympics, Harmeet Desai and Manav Thakkar will form the men’s team while Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula and Archana Kamath are in the women’s team.

Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Ayhika Mukherjee are the reserve players for the Paris Olympics.

The 29-year-old paddler said the way India qualified for the Olympics in the team event shows that the sport in India is primed for an excellent growth. “India qualified for the first time, this is a huge achievement. I am really happy with how we are working together (at the camp). I think we have a shot at the medal and we should give our best,” she said.

She added it was inspiring to see how rapid the growth of women’s table tennis in India is. “The growth of women’s table tennis in India is really inspiring. I see many of my fellow players playing really well. Everyone in the team is motivated and training very hard. Women’s table tennis in India will only grow further for sure,” she said, in an interview to Ultimate Table Tennis.

The Delhi-based paddler said she has set herself a target of reaching the medal rounds but will also focus in the next match ahead. “I learned many things from the last Olympics, and I am not going to make those mistakes again. My mindset has changed since then, I am calmer and have more confidence in myself. I have been working on my stamina and my agility, and my ultimate aim is to challenge for a medal. But, I will go slowly. I will try to be in that zone and give my best. I will go round by round and not think of a medal too early. I will give my best for my country,” Manika, who won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, explained.

After the Paris Olympics 2024, the table tennis caravan moves to Chennai, where the players will compete in the Ultimate Table Tennis. The upcoming season of the UTT will be played from August 22 to September 7.

Manika will play for PBG Bengaluru Smashers alongside Alvaro Robles of Spain, Lily Zhang of the USA and Indian players Jeet Chandra, Taneesha Kotecha and Amalraj Anthony.

Speaking about the UTT, Manika said: “UTT really helped us because we get to practise with foreign players, play matches (against them). We get good match practice.”

The Paris Olympics 2024 commences on July 26 and will go on till August 11 while the table tennis events start on July 27 with the men’s and women’s singles events. The team events start on August 5.