‘It’s not going to be easy at all’- Somdev Devvarman opines that it will be tough for Manika Batra to show the same form as CWG 2018
The Commonwealth Games has got to D day and the opening ceremony will be a blazing event. India’s campaign will commence on the 30th of July with Nitender Rawat competing in the men’s marathon.
In a media interaction, the former Indian Tennis player, Somdev Devvarman put forth his views on the medal count of the Indian contingent. He thinks it will be tough for Table-Tennis star Manika Batra to put forth the same performance as she did in the previous edition of the Commonwealth Games.
In 2018, Batra had herself bagged four medals, including gold in the singles event. Overall, the game of Table Tennis fetched 8 medals for India.
“It’s not going to be easy at all. Manika had 4 medals herself. It’ll be a massive effort. It’s one thing to come out here and win 4 medals and then 4 years later, come back and repeat the feat,” Somdev Devvarman told The Bridge.
Somdev backs PV Sindhu to go the Distance
Devvarman, gold-medalist of the 2010 edition of CWG, thinks the title-winning performance in Singapore Open will keep PV Sindhu in good stead ahead of the event. In the 2018 event, Saina Nehwal had beaten PV Sindhu to secure a gold medal for the country in the women’s singles in badminton.
“PV Sindhu will go in as a clear favourite, she already has a bronze and a silver from the past two CWGs, aside from gold from the mixed team event,” He said.
However, the former tennis star hopes that the Indian contingent will surpass the medal tally of 66, which was registered in the previous edition of the Games. India’s biggest and best performance of 101 medals was seen in the 2010 edition which was hosted by India.
“India has shown consistent performance in racquet sports over the years, and we hope to see this momentum grow. The recent achievements of PV Sindhu and Manika Batra are the perfect example of this.
“With a strong Indian contingent taking charge and representing the nation across all disciplines at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, I am hopeful that India will surpass the 66-medal tally registered during the 2018 Commonwealth Games said Devvarman,” he added.
Devvarman will be joining the broadcast of Sony Sports Network’s ‘SPORTS EXTRAAA’ show, which includes an elite sporting panel. Former India hockey captain Viren Rasquinha, former India badminton player Trupti Murgunde, and cricketer Veda Krishnamurthy will all be a part of it.
Flashback to an iconic moment in my career when I became the first Indian woman to win a gold medal at the CWG 2018 🥇🇮🇳 #OnThisDay #2YearsAgo #ThrowbackTuesday pic.twitter.com/ytJkUbtryr
— Manika Batra (@manikabatra_TT) April 14, 2020
