‘I learned to be calmer … This high will stay for a couple of days, though the memories will remain’: Manika Batra after historic bronze at Asian Cup

What the stunned audience then saw was a Manika masterclass. A masterclass that made her the first Indian woman to win a bronze medal at the Asian Cup.

The World No. 44 took a deep breath, gearing up to return Hayata’s tricky serve. The Japanese only allowed her an inch of space to attack and Manika latched on to it. Her blistering forehand smashes were too much for Hayata to handle and suddenly she was up to 9-10. In that pressure situation, Manika’s nerves of steel and long pimpled rubber on the backhand came into play.

Manika Makes History!

Congratulations to @manikabatra_TT on becoming the 1st ever Indian female paddler to win a medal at Asian Cup Table Tennis tournament.

Keep Winning Nari Shakti!#ManikaBatra #AsianCup2022pic.twitter.com/CwBtyatDuW

— Shankar Lalwani – #SabkaSaathSabkaVikas (@iShankarLalwani) November 19, 2022

Hayata chose to attack, Manika was forced to defend. On her second forehand smash, Manika just kept a calm head, and returned using her famed backhand. Her pimpled backhand rubber played the trick and Hayata skied her return, bringing the game to deuce. Hayata then faulted on her serve, and Manika made the most of hers, then letting out a cry of relief. She could smell victory.

The win would come, but not before Hayata pulled one game back. After losing the fifth 4-11, Manika absolutely dominated the sixth, allowing Hayata just two points to complete a 4-2 (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, 12-10, 4-11, 11-2) win. And get a cool $10,000 in prize money too.

This has been a historic tournament for the 27-year-old Batra which included a win over China’s World No. 7 Chen Xingtong in the Round of 16. While she did lose her semifinal against World No. 5 Mima Ito, she managed to steal two games in her 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 7-11 loss, making it her best performance against Ito.\

I am so so happy winning bronze medal in this Asian cup. Defeating the Top players was challenging and I’m proud of my victory.
It was so wonderful playing and competing against them.

I will continue this hard work and will give my best in future tournaments as well…
1/1 pic.twitter.com/Lfb8gk7BfF

— Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) November 19, 2022

After her poor run which began with a medal-less Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Manika finally seems to have found her form.

Speaking to The Indian Express after her historic bronze, the paddler said she changed some aspects of her game after the disappointing outing in Birmingham.

“After the Commonwealth Games, I knew I had to change something to be back to my best. While I worked on some strategies, it was the off-table work that has helped me the most. The most important thing I learned was that I have to be calmer while playing. That’s what helped me, especially in pressure situations,” she said.

Quick turnaround

While that definitely helped her in that tense fourth game against Hayata, it also helped her recover from the semifinal loss to play the bronze-medal clash within an hour.

“After losing (to Ito), I was disappointed but then I told myself that I hadn’t lost badly. Ito is a great player and I gave my best. I just tried to remain calm and prepare for the bronze-medal match. I had nothing to lose as it was the last match of this tournament for me,” Manika said.

Not thinking too much was also one of the aspects she worked on before this tournament. Maybe it was the pressure of not doing well at the CWG or even at the World TT Team Championships that was playing on her mind, but Manika says once she stopped overthinking, she got into her rhythm at this tournament.

“I just focused on the strategies and cleared my mind of everything else. When on the attack, I knew I had to be relentless and not stop, no matter what. I think that’s what also worked for me here. I was able to enjoy this tournament and that’s why I did well,” she said.

While Manika basks in this glory, she says she has her feet firmly on the ground and is not going to stop in her quest to beat top-10 players on a regular basis. She already has her sights set on the Asian and World Championships.

“This high will stay for a couple of days, though the memories will remain. I know that I have to be back on court soon and keep on working,” she said.