Khade,Bhosale qualify for main draws

“This is the second year when I will be travelling to Australia and there are a lot of positives to take forward from my previous trip down under. One of the main things there is to get used to the weather. It is hot and humid and within minutes one can be completely sapped of his or her energy. All these factors from my previous outing will help me in the tournament this year,” said Khade.

Khade had made it to the qualifying draw last year only to lose in the finals of the qualifying round to get knocked out of the tournament. However,over the previous year his ranking has gone up steadily and he made it to the main round this year.

All the three players agree that one of the most important areas of their training has been the mental conditioning and strengthening that has helped them improve as players.

Bhosale,who is travelling to Australia for the first time said,“Indian players lack stamina and mental training when compared to the foreigners. Physically,we are as fit as them but when the pressure increases we are unable to match them. This year we have worked on our mental toughness. We have had bio-metric analysis done while playing our games so that it helps us to analyse our game better.”

Thombre,who is also not a stranger to playing in Australia,had crashed out last year in her first game. Even though she recovered from her injury,her having played lesser tournaments has cost her dearly as far as ranking is concerned. However,she is not overtly worried about the same. “I could have continued playing at the risk of seriously damaging my muscles or play selective tournaments,” she said,adding,“The rest and the subseqent return has seen me play more carefully. I have learnt to conserve my energy at the beginning of the match so that I can give it a better shot towards the end of the set. With the help of biometric analysis i have understood where i stress out the most and have been able to alter my game accordingly . This year,I am sure of not just advancing to the main draw but going a long way ahead.”

A major problem with players from the subcontinent is that they are unable to break into the top ten as far as the rankings are concerned.

“It is difficult to run the extra mile in order to make it to the top ten,but with more sponsorships,better training facilities and btter equipments things are changing. Also,we have started adapting international method of training such as bio-metric analysis,masseurs and mental conditioning tecniques. The year ahead looks positive for a lot of players,” said Khade.