Indian table tennis is headed in the right direction thanks to the advent of the UTT tournament which attracts top players from across the world, feels Manika Batra, who is the most prominent face of the women's game in the country.
Manika and Sreeja Akula recently made history by becoming the first Indian table tennis players to reach the Olympics singles pre-quarterfinals in Paris.
Next, the 29-year-old Manika will represent Bengaluru Smashers in the eight-team Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) competition, which gets underway here on Thursday. "Personally, it has helped me because the players come for UTT from different countries, and we play against them, we play with them," Manika told reporters in Chennai on Wednesday. "It's really fun, and we enjoy this.
I can see the growth that's happening, especially in women's table tennis in India, how we all are performing internationally.