Asian Games mixed doubles bronze medallist Diya Chitale has set her sights on the Olympics, describing the continental medal as a stepping stone and outlining a roadmap built on WTT tournaments and the World Championships to strengthen her qualification case.
The road ahead
Speaking to the media in Mumbai at a felicitation event, Chitale said the focus over the next year will be on improving the pair's world ranking, since Olympic qualification offers multiple quota routes. Diya and partner Manush Shah are currently ranked seventh in the world, and five mixed doubles pairs qualify through the ITTF world ranking list.
Asian Games breakthrough
The duo beat Hong Kong's world No. 4 pair Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the quarterfinals before going down to China's world No. 2 combination of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in the semifinals. The bronze was only India's second Asian Games mixed doubles medal in table tennis, after Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra's achievement in 2018. Chitale credited an aggressive approach for the pair's success and thanked her mental trainer for travelling to the venue and meeting her before the quarterfinals, saying the right mental space mattered enormously at big events.
Domestic form
Chitale also underlined her current form by clinching the women's singles title at the National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Panchkula on Tuesday.
Sources:
- News18: Diya Chitale Sets Olympic Sights After Asian Games Medal
The road ahead
Speaking to the media in Mumbai at a felicitation event, Chitale said the focus over the next year will be on improving the pair's world ranking, since Olympic qualification offers multiple quota routes. Diya and partner Manush Shah are currently ranked seventh in the world, and five mixed doubles pairs qualify through the ITTF world ranking list.
Asian Games breakthrough
The duo beat Hong Kong's world No. 4 pair Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem in the quarterfinals before going down to China's world No. 2 combination of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha in the semifinals. The bronze was only India's second Asian Games mixed doubles medal in table tennis, after Achanta Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra's achievement in 2018. Chitale credited an aggressive approach for the pair's success and thanked her mental trainer for travelling to the venue and meeting her before the quarterfinals, saying the right mental space mattered enormously at big events.
Domestic form
Chitale also underlined her current form by clinching the women's singles title at the National Ranking Table Tennis Championships in Panchkula on Tuesday.
Sources:
- News18: Diya Chitale Sets Olympic Sights After Asian Games Medal
