Manika Batra of India was in her elements on Monday, July 29 (as per the Central European Time) as she defeated Pritihika Pavade of France in straight games 11-9 11-6 11-9 11-7 to become the first Indian table tennis player to reach the pre-quarterfinals at the Summer Olympics.
Manika's win was not easy as she found herself against the local crowd favourite. Prithika has Indian roots and originally hails from Puducherry. Her family moved to France in 2003 and she was born in a Paris suburb in 2004.
The crowd rallied behind Prithika and it had more than just to do with her national identity. Prithika came into the Olympics on the back of a dream run after she made her first WTT final in June and is currently ranked 18th in the world.
Pitted against an opponent ranked 10 places above her, Manika needed to be on her toes and she was. The Delhi-born was deceptive and swift during the contest and never allowed Prithika to gain momentum.
"I am happy that I beat a French player in Paris. I defeated a higher-ranked player. I did not think of creating history and making the pre-quarters, there are more rounds, I will take it match by match and give my best as I always do," Manika told PTI after her match.
Manika revealed that she had devised a plan with her coach to target Prithika's forehand - a ploy she altered after she saw Prithika struggle on her backhand during the contest.
"I had planned to play to her forehand as discussed with my coach but I was getting the points on her backhand, so I did not change the tactics. I did play a few shots on her forehand too, I did not want her to think that I was playing only on her backhand.
"It was a tough match. Staying relaxed helps me both on and off the court. I do breathing exercises that help me during the match. I will give my best to whoever I play against in the next round," she said.
