This year, Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) will be relying on Manjusha to play the same dual role in the Inter-State Team Championships in February. Incidentally, Maharashtra last won the Inter-State title at Bharuch in 1995-96 when she was part of the team. Then marriage to Delhi shuttler Ajay Kanwar forced her to switch allegiance to Delhi. But after a two-year gap, Manjusha is back to boost the title hopes of her home state.

An animated player, Manjusha is as expressive off court. In an interview with The Indian Express, Manjusha, currently participating in the state championship at Thane, discusses the shape her career is taking.

Q:Did Sunder Shetty (secretary, MBA) `bribe' you to return to the state?

A: (Laughs). No. I wish they had, though.

Q: What prompted the move?

A: I was not doing too well in Delhi. The state association there is also not as active as the MBA. Moreover, I was spending a good deal of time practising in Pune. The courts in Delhi are too far away, and I feel more at home in Pune. I thought that by playing for Maharashtra again, both the state and I can do better.

Q: Do you agree with the popular opinion that the Indian women's badminton circuit is weak?

A: Though the circuit has become tougher and there are more tournaments, there is a tendency in India to ignore players at the lower rungs. We just look at the top five. For people below, it is very difficult in the absence of incentives. They train hard under parental and mental pressure. Then they come in and lose, the failure is too much for them forcing them to quit. There should be incentives for them like there is in tennis, prize money in theinitial rounds. Though the Grand Prix has introduced this incentive, the state associations should follow suit. I feel the state associations should make more attempts to retain existing players.

Q: You are not going for the forthcoming Asian Games...

A: It's disappointing. After winning the bronze in the Commonwealth Games, I would have liked to play more international tournaments. But lack of sponsors has forced me to skip the European or Asian leagues. I have no idea when our next outing abroad will be.

Q: It must be tough playing both singles and doubles.

A: We are weak in doubles. India has no format for doubles training. We cannot expect to play doubles with singles training. But in India it is all singles. An academy specialising in doubles training would be ideal. Prakash Sir was suggesting after the Commonwealth Games it would be better that I play one event instead of playing both. Q: Is that likely to happen?

A: If we have a better doubles team, yes. Till then I will have to continue.

Ihave to work on my fitness to ensure I am ready for the job.

Q: If you were to choose one, which would you prefer?

A: Singles. Archana (Deodhar) also understands singles is my priority.

Q: How would you rate Maharashtra's chances at the Nationals?

A: Andhra Pradesh and Railways are our main competition. Andhra has two good singles players in Neelima (Choudhary) and PVV Lakshmi, while Railways have a strong doubles pair in Madhumita Bisht and Sindhu Gulati. The second singles is our weakness.