Kolkata: Manika Batra, who created history by becoming the first Indian female paddler to win an Asian Games medal, is now planning to work overtime in order to improve her reflexes and agility and come close to matching her Asian counterparts by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Manika won the mixed doubles bronze with veteran Sharath Kamal, but struggled in the singles at the Asiad.
“I gave my 100% against Wang Manyu (against whom she lost her round of 16 singles match), but I realised I have to improve a lot to beat them. I will prepare well for the coming tournaments,” Manika told this agency in an interview.
“As a team we are in a good shape right now. In singles we have to improve a lot, especially when we play against Asians. Their reflexes are so good. Personally, I have to improve my reflexes and agility to match them. So I will work on that till the Olympics and try to match them there,” said Manika.
Besides her game, World No.56 Manika also aims to break into the top 40 rankings. Manika, who will play in Belgium Open (starting Sept 23) and Swedish Open (Nov 15), also revealed that she has plans to play for a European club next year but it’s too early to speak on that, she added.
As a team we are in a good shape. In singles we need to improve a lot, especially against the Asians. We’ve to improve our reflexes and agility to match them
Manika Batra
