Joshna bullish of a good show

The Indian team comprising Joshna, Dipika, Akanksha Salunkhe and Sunayna Kuruvilla have undergone an intense three-week coaching camp at the sport’s training facility in Chennai. “We worked very hard and cannot wait to get onto the courts. We are looking forward for a good show in Paris,” Joshna said. 

The world No. 13 said the Indians have improved a lot from what they were last time around. India finished 14th in Canada in 2014. “We didn’t have Dipika then and I was the only senior pro in the team. Now, it is a different scenario. We have garnered enough experience at this level while Akanksha and Sunayna have also got more experience now,” Joshna said. 

The highest ranked Indian said it wouldn’t be easy for the quartet. “It will be tough. All our matches are against stronger teams where all the four players are ranked high in the world. It is an advantage for teams like Egypt and Mexico. Even our third player will find it very difficult but having said so, none of us is worried about our opponents. We are raring to go and we have done our training lessons very hard,” Joshna added. 

With such a strong field, it is inevitable for the senior players to be under immense pressure to win matches but Joshna said she it wasn’t something new. “I will be playing against the top player in all teams and that is something, as a pro, I am used to. It is important that I stick to my game plan and do what I have to do on the court and not worry about other issues. Pressure gets the best out of me too,” the Chennai player added. 

The training camp, according to Joshna, was one of the best she has attended in recent times. “It was more about training together. We had a routine and conditioning. We concentrated on our movements and weaved out different strategies for different opponents. We had an able coach in Ashraf El Karargui and we learnt many tactics from him,” Joshna added. 

For Joshna, training under Karargui was an enriching one. “He is a coach who has trained the top Egyptian players. They are some of the strongest in business. We got a lot of inputs and trained the way he has trained the top players. It was nice to get into a rhythm with those tactics,” the Chennai player added.