“Focusing right now on qualifying for Tokyo Games, but realistic goal is 2024 Olympics,” says Manika Batra
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Manika Batra
Indian table tennis ace Manika Batra is now focusing completely on her preparations for the Tokyo Olympics‘ qualifiers which will take place in Doha. Batra, who won the Commonwealth Games gold in women’s singles in 2018 also tasted a lot of success at the senior national championships which were held this month. Despite her terrific form, Batra has stated that she is not focusing too much on the future.
She has further stated that she will not be putting too much pressure on herself by ‘burdening herself with unrealistic expectations’. While the 25-year-old will gun for glory at the Tokyo Games’ qualifiers and the Games proper, she has stated that her dream is to win a medal at the Olympic Games in 2024.
‘It’s a dream to go to the Olympics’
Manika Batra spoke to India Today’s Boria Majumdar about her plans and said, “I will go to Doha for the Asian qualifier. Firstly, I have two WTT tournaments, I can improve my ranking there. That’s my aim. After this long, I am playing an international tournament. It’s going to be a bit different, the environment there I don’t know how it will be. I think I am well prepared.”
“It’s important to gain the confidence during training that I can do. When you go to the tournament, you shouldn’t have regrets that I didn’t do something during training. I am pretty much confident that I did my training well,” she added.
Talking about her Olympic aspirations, she said, “For me, it’s a dream to go to the Olympics. But not just going there, but coming back with a medal is. But the focus now is qualifying for the Olympics, then, of course, my main aim is 2024 Olympics to be realistic. But if I qualify for the 2021 Games, I will give my best. My main goal is the 2024 Olympics. I will have time to prepare for 2024. To be honest, I will say my chances are going to be better at the 2024 Olympics,” and signed off.
Also Read: “Tokyo is the best place to host the Olympics,” says Indian table tennis star Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
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Nevin Clinton
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