In a country where Table Tennis is not the most sought-after sport, Manika Batra emerged as a new sporting sensation. A Commonwealth Gold Medallist, a Golden Hat-trick at the 12th South Asian Games, and one of the top Table Tennis players in India. Manika has played a pivotal role in popularizing the sport.
Manika took after her siblings, Aanchal and Sahil, who also are Table tennis players with Aanchal being a national level player. It didn't take her long to showcase her potential in the game. She won a Silver in her first national-level competition. Manika also admits that a lot of her success is due to the staunch fitness and training regime that she followed.
The journey however has not been the easiest. In 2019, a series of inconsistent performances saw Manika fall down the rankings. This is where Manika's training team played a key role. They encouraged her to learn from her mistakes and made sure she kept working hard for future tournaments and not become complacent after a win. Moreover, Manika's mother made sure that she stood by her throughout, being an incredible source of motivation for her.
There were many from the outside world that motivated her too. Her idol, Ronaldo, whose qualities of commitment, passion, and consistency have been adopted by her. Famed cricketer—Gautam Gambhir imparted much-needed wisdom to Manika on how to stay on top of every game with self-belief. Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar gave her a mega confidence boost when he tweeted in support of her during the Olympics.
Such role models and support systems helped Manika Batra reach new heights in her career and life. That's the power of Human Potential Multiplied.
