Want to be in top 30 to qualify for 2020 Olympics: Manika Batra
India's Table Tennis sensation Manika Batra has her eyes set on Olympics gold, but for that she would have to position herself under the top 30 in order to qualify directly. The Commonwealth gold winner will hope to improve her rankings in the upcoming tournaments in 2019.
"Everyone dreams about Olympic gold, so do I. But I will move step by step. I have to improve my rankings in the forthcoming international tournaments next year. I will try to position myself under top 30 so that I can qualify for Olympics directly," Batra told ANI.
Talking about her training for the Olympics, Manika stated that she is working on her fitness and trying to learn new techniques so that she can be quick in her game.
Manika, who won the 'Breakthrough Table Tennis Star' award at the prestigious International Table Tennis Federation (ITFF) Star Awards held earlier this month, which no one in Indian history have won it, also lauded the government schemes and the support from the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
"The government is providing brilliant support to every player including those who cannot afford. It motivates players as well to do better. In India, the game transformed after Common Wealth Games. It didn't happen only from our side but also from the government's side. Especially our sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who has been a sports person. So he knows what an athlete needs," Manika said.
When asked about her achievements this year, Manika cheerfully said: "The year 2018 has been very important for me. I won many tournaments this year. It all started with the nationals and zone level. After that, in the Common Wealth Games, I bagged two gold medals, which no one had ever won in the history of table tennis. We also beat Singapore in the team event, which never happened before.
(With ANI Inputs)
