Panaji: Manika Batra took time to get into the groove at Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), the country’s franchise-based league.Representing Ahmedabad APL Pipers, the experienced paddler was stunned by 16-year-old debutant Syndrela Das in her opening match, suffered a reverse against another teenager, Anna Hursey (France), and could not put it across Sayali Wani, a distant world no. 151 compared to Batra’s 51.Three matches, three losses, not what’s expected from India’s most accomplished player of the modern era.It wasn’t long before Batra showed her true colours. She proved too good for Zeng Jian (Singapore), who had won two gold medals, a silver and bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Then the star paddler blanked French Olympian Prithika Pavade, before edging out Sutirtha Mukherjee for her third win in a row.Normalcy was restored.“I cannot be winning all the time,” Batra told TOI over a video call on Thursday. “There are matches I will lose, but I am happy (with my form). I am trying out new things, and it will not click for me instantly. I can see that I have improved.”Batra arrived in Goa for UTT at a time when there was a furore over her omission from the five-member women’s squad for Asian Games 2026. The omission for failing to satisfy the selection criteria and subsequent battle with the federation left her “mentally exhausted”.“I’ve said everything in my statement so don’t want to add to that. But, of course, for any player, this will really be the saddest moment (to be left out),” said Batra, who won a historic mixed doubles bronze at the 2018 Asian Games.At 31, the three-time Olympian has plenty in her bag: a career-high world ranking of 24, four medals at the Commonwealth Games, including two golds, a bronze at the Asian Games, last 16 at the Olympics, and a worthy reputation as face of the sport for an entire generation.“Every day I have a goal, and it’s not just to win Commonwealth Games, Asian Games or Olympics. I want to improve every day. While training too, there are goals that I want to achieve, like new techniques. The main goal, of course, is to win an Olympic medal for the country. My goals, generally, are not only for tournaments, but in training sessions too,” said Batra.Batra has a medal from the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, while at the Olympics, the pinnacle for any sportsperson, she made it to the last 16, India’s deepest- run in Olympic singles table tennis. Last week in Goa, she would have looked back at that impressive run, after blanking Prithika Pavade, who had stopped her in Paris.In 2028, Batra will fancy herself for another shot at glory, particularly with a crop of talented Indian youngsters ready to take on the world.“You honestly love to see (the younger players doing well). Syndrela beat me 3-0 and I was really happy. Not ‘happy’ because I lost, but happy to see so many youngsters coming up. I also feel motivated to see them achieving their goals. Youngsters playing with confidence is good for Indian table tennis. The standard is high.“I am at a level now where people will expect me to deliver. Of course, there’s pressure, but it’s fine. If I don’t want this pressure, I should be sitting at home, doing nothing. Pressure is always a privilege. When I play, I focus only on myself. Because it’s me on the table and I trust myself to win,” said Batra.
