A change in mindset, technique and coach helps Manika Batra regain her contact

There’s one thing completely different about Manika Batra today. Usually, after dropping a detailed level, she would usually take a look at her coach in despair, mumble one thing, after which attempt to encourage herself for the following level. Now, whereas she does encourage herself for the following level, she stays centered, trying instantly on the desk, even letting out a uncommon smile.

So much has modified for India’s ‘Golden Girl’ since her poor outing on the Commonwealth Games final yr. Much was anticipated of her in Birmingham given her distinctive present on the 2018 version the place she returned with 4 gold medals. However, the Delhi lady couldn’t dwell as much as the billing and returned empty-handed.

She knew one thing needed to change. When she misplaced the National Games semifinal to Sutirtha Mukherjee in September, she determined to make that change.

Manika Batra in motion. (FILE)

The change got here within the type of a brand new coach. It wasn’t understanding with Germany’s Chris Pfeiffer, and so, she requested her previous buddy Aman Balgu who runs his TT academy in Hyderabad, if he was up for a problem. Balgu jumped on the alternative.

The outcomes got here nearly immediately. Just 10 days after appointing Balgu as coach, Manika went for the Asian Cup in November the place she created historical past, turning into the primary Indian girl to win a medal on the event, beating then World No. 6 Hina Hayata of Japan and China’s World No. 7 Chen Xingtong en path to the bronze medal.

It saved getting higher. After the flip of the yr, she notched up some actually spectacular wins on the WTT circuit, reaching the semifinals of the WTT Doha Contender and quarterfinals of the Nova Gorica (Slovenia) Contender. Impressively, she additionally reached the blended doubles semifinal in each these tournaments, partnering with G Sathiyan.

Those stellar performances noticed her attain a career-high rating of 33 and extra importantly, gave her renewed confidence. At the WTT Star Contender in Panaji, she made it to the pre-quarterfinal stage earlier than bowing out to China’s World No. 20 Qian Tianyi.

Back to fundamentals

So what precisely has Balgu labored on along with her that has seen such a drastic change? “We had to work on the basics,” he instructed The Indian Express after her match on Friday. “When I say basics, I mean that I had to remind her why she’s been such a winner and has had such tremendous results. She was feeling down after the Commonwealth Games and needed to regain that confidence.”

The different key distinction, Balgu says, is bringing solely positivity, be it throughout coaching or throughout her matches. And Manika has begun to really feel the distinction.

“My mindset has improved a lot. There isn’t a huge change in technique but the confidence level is completely different. I am calmer now while playing (matches). He likes to motivate, so that’s made me believe I can beat any player now,” Manika stated.

Manika Bhatra after the sport. (FILE)

While the change in her psychological house supplied an enormous increase, Balgu noticed that opponents have began to determine Manika’s sport which is why she wasn’t doing so properly.

Manika has all the time performed with a long-pimpled rubber on the backhand, permitting her to gradual the sport down earlier than discovering the appropriate alternative to unleash her thunderous forehand. While the long-pimpled rubber, which produces an reverse spin, is often used, Manika’s power was that she may change it throughout rallies to confuse the opponent. At the best stage, nevertheless, it turns into troublesome to change the grip when the opponent is continually attacking.

Balgu instructed Manika that being World No. 33 was alright, however to crack the top-20, she needed to change up her sport. The answer for him was easy – as a substitute of defending with the backhand pimples, Manika needed to try to assault with it.

And they’re simply beginning to reap the rewards of that change. While she wasn’t in a position to change it up towards Tianyi on Friday, her gorgeous 3-1 (11-9, 11-8, 5-11, 11-8) win over World No. 14 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico on Thursday was a basic instance of the technique. Diaz simply didn’t anticipate Manika to assault with the backhand, and was utterly foxed.

“People say that there are more limitations to me playing with long pimples at the highest level but soon they will see how I can switch it up. We’re working very hard at this, though the main component of my game will not change, and that is to keep confusing the opponent,” she stated.

Confusing her opponent undoubtedly has been the important thing to her success all alongside however that goes hand-in-hand with spontaneity. It’s one thing Balgu doesn’t thoughts and says that whereas it’s undoubtedly one thing she depends on, she wanted to develop correct methods to beat the perfect on the planet which was missing.

And Manika is prepared to do no matter it takes to beat the perfect. “I’m satisfied but being in the 30s (ranking) is good enough for now. I have set my eyes on breaking into the top-20 this year and I will continue to work hard towards achieving this goal,” she stated.