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The fourth edition of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) is all set to kick off on July 13 at the Balewadi Stadium, Pune. Ahead of some scintillating action, the six franchises picked their players at the Player Draft on Friday, June 2.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Bengaluru Smasher's star paddler, Manika Batra, who was retained ahead of the auction, opened up on how she was looking forward to Season 4, since the league is returning after a long hiatus of nearly four years.
"I'm really excited and happy (that Season 4 is happening)," Batra said. "Many players, including me, were waiting for this season. To be honest, we really enjoy it and we get to play with different players from abroad and from India so I am really happy with this."
Speaking about her being retained by the franchise, Manika promised to give her best for the team and hopes to repay the faith that the team management has shown in her.
"I am really happy that they have retained me," she said. "I just said that I will give my best and hundred percent to win for my team and I'm happy to be retained."
The 27-year-old, who has won the title in Season 2 of the tournament while plying her trade for Dabang Delhi TTC, reminisced about the players that were a part of that squad and hoped the the Smashers could pick a similar team.
"With Dabang I won," Batra recalled. "At that time, the team was really good. We were young. Adriana (Diaz) was there, Sakura (Mori) was there. So the team that they had assembled was very good and I hope that we get a similar team. I hope that I give my best and I will support my teammates. We will give our best to win this season."
Finally, she signed off by revealing how expectations from fans will always be high and urged the team to enjoy the game instead of focussing on winning.
"It's not just in UTT, expectations are always high," she admitted. "I think we will not think that we have to win, we will just enjoy the game and UTT - we'll just enjoy this season."
Manika Batra will be a part of a formidable Bengaluru Smashers side that consists of foreign stars Kirill Gerassimenko and Natalia Bajor along with Sanil Shetty, Poymantee Baisya and Ankur Bhattacharjee.
