Table tennis player Manika Batra played all her three Tokyo Olympics matches without her coach by her side on the court and also denied help from the national coach
India’s 26-year-old ace paddler Manika Batra headed out of the Tokyo Olympics this Monday after she lost to Austria’s Sofia Polcanova 4-0. But all this while, her coach Sanmay Paranjape was not present at the Tokyo Village, despite being in Tokyo. Batra has played all her three singles matches without a coach present on the court, by her side. Read on to know why.
Why Was Manika Batra Without A Coach During 2021 Tokyo Olympics?
Earlier, Manika Batra Earlier became the first Indian table tennis player to qualify for the third round of singles at the Olympics when she beat Ukraine’s Margaryta Pesotska. But, her relationship with the authorities has been a bit problematic off-court. While her personal coach Sanmay Paranjape was controversially cleared to travel with her to Tokyo, he was not allowed to stay at the Games Village with the national team.
Sanmay was staying at a hotel and was allowed access for the training sessions only. Batra had wanted the authorities to upgrade Paranajpe’s accreditation so that he could mark his presence during her matches. But team leader and TTFI advisor MP Singh stated that the organizers had denied Manika’s request for field-of-play access to her coach.
“Mera Coach Bhi Aya Hai,” Manika Batra Refuses Guidance From National Coach
Moreover, Batra refused to take guidance from the team’s national coach Soumyadeep Roy. “I don’t want him on my bench to guide me,” stated Batra. “Mera coach bhi aya hai (my coach has also come),” she added. Despite being very upset, Roy was present on the court during Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra’s round of 16 match in mixed doubles.
Nevertheless, coaches play a huge part when it comes to keeping the spirits of the players high during matches. There wasn’t a single table where a coach was not guiding their players, except that of Batra. She may have managed two great wins in the last two days, but she reached her breaking point on Monday. Her forehand was clearly going wayward and there was no one to calm her and help her snap out of the consequent frustration.
When asked to comment upon the same after losing Polcanova on Monday, Batra lost her voice. “I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it. Can we talk later?” This was all India’s table tennis star could utter as she left in a huff.
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