Manika Batra proved she has nerves to play at the Olympics, says Neha Aggarwal

World No.63 Manika Batra scripted a stunning comeback against superior-ranked Margaryta Pesotska of Ukraine (World No. 32) in the second round of women's singles event at Tokyo 2020 on Sunday. The premier Indian paddler overturned a 0-2 deficit to clinch the match by a 4-3 margin.

That was before she went down to Austria's Sofia Polcanova in the third round in straight games. But that has not taken the sheen away from a ground-breaking run by Batra at Tokyo.

And Neha Aggarwal, the only Indian to feature in the women's singles event at Beijing 2008, was mighty impressed with Batra's mental forte.

"I think Manika (Batra) has shown next level mental strength. It's something (required) to beat a higher-ranked player at the Olympics. Manika has proven that. She has got the nerves to play at that level," Aggarwal told Olympics.com

Aggarwal, however, pointed out that Batra tried to play safe in the initial games in the second round which made it easy for Pesotska to take the early lead. The 31-year-old advised her fellow Olympian to stick to playing to her strengths.

"I think Manika (Batra) started a bit shaky. She wasn't playing her game in the first two games. She was playing so safe. Her game is to switch the racquet, to counter-attack from the forehand side, turn and attack from the forehand side. That's what she was not doing in the first two games. And that's why it was easy for Pesotska to take those two games," Aggarwal said.

"But after that Manika (Batra) started to execute those. She changed the pace of the game really well. Her strength is to maneuver the pace of the game and be able to play it long or short. That's when Pesotska was very much pressurised. And then after it was levelled at 2-2 then it was anybody's game. I think the sixth game was a great game. She was 2-5 down and then won," she added.

Aggarwal has observed Batra's playing style and movement in the past few years. She understands that Batra has always had a mindset of defeating higher-ranked opponents to create upsets which helped her overcome the Pesotska threat.

"If you're playing a higher ranked player and you want to beat them. And that's what she (Manika Batra) has been saying, that she wants to create a few upsets. I think she wanted to beat them and just did it. It's not that she is scared. She wants to beat the higher-ranked player. Because at elite level if you don't think that you can beat them then how can you beat them," the Olympian explained.

But she could not replicate her performances against Polcanova in the third round. But it certainly will be a memorable campaign for the 26-year-old.