Star table tennis player Manika Batra believes having a personal coach is a basic requirement for an athlete playing an individual sport and if she had had court-side access to hers at the Tokyo Olympics, she would have done better.

Manika said the authorities, including the Table Tennis Federation of India, should not mind personal coaches travelling with the players even in multi-sport events like the Olympics.

“A chief coach is fine for team events but in singles events one needs his/her coach who knows about the training and game of his ward,” she said.