Chasing the commonwealth dream

Her Olympic dream may have lasted only 34 minutes, but young Neha Aggarwal is hopeful of putiing up a confident display in the international circuit and is eyeing a medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Sounding that she gained a lot from the Beijing experience, she says her next target will be to play well in the international circuit. 8220;The experience in the Beijing was something that I will not be able to forget for a long time. Though I lost to Chinese born Australian Lay Jiang Fang in the first round, I guess it will do me good. Being still a junior, I considered Beijing Olympics as to gain more experience. Qualifying for the Olympics was a very big achievement in itself and it gave a chance to interact with some of the top paddlers of the world,8221; feels the 18-year-old player who is currently studying in BA second year at St Stephen8217;s College. 8220;Chinese players are very competitive and the facilities there are very good. They also lay emphasis on the mental aspect of the game and each player consults a psychologist at least once in week. It is very important for a player to maintain a sound mental level,8221; feels Neha who currently ranked 248th in the world.

Neha did not let herself intimidated by the presence of some bigger names in Beijing Olympics and is now eyeing playing more and more in the international circuit. 8220;The best part about the Beijing Olympics was that we got to meet some of the big names in table tennis. Apart from world top ten players, we also interacted with some of the coaches and it helped us a lot,8221; shares Neha. And the teenager from Delhi feels that players like her and Saina hope to do well in the coming years.

8220;Saina has been a huge inspiration for me. She was my room mate during the Beijing Olympics and we chatted for long hours about each other8217;s game during the Olympics. She is a very competitive player and I guess I will be able to play like her in the international circuit,8221; shares Neha who also won the bronze medal for India in the Indian Open held from September 11 to September 14. 8220;Tournaments like the Indian Open are very important for a player like me as it give us a chance to rub shoulders with some of Asia8217;s best players. I am eyeing more and more international tournaments this year as it will be a good preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth games. Before that, I will also like to train abroad and I am hopeful of getting a sponsor during that time,8221;shares Neha who is currently ranked 20 in the world junior rankings.