Main aim is to play better and improve ranking: Ritika

Nagpur, Feb 5

After missing the recently concluded Odisha Open due to Covid reasons, city's doubles specialist Ritika Thaker is looking at Iran International Challenge Badminton Tournament beginning at Shiraz city in Iran on Monday.

In the said tournament Ritika and her Mumbai partner Simran Singhi got top billing and they are the only Indians who are participating in the doubles event of the tournament.

In this season Ritika has been unlucky as she missed both women's doubles and mixed doubles events in Odisha Open. Her mixed doubles partner Navneeth Bokka had tested Covid positive and at the same time, Simran Singhi’s mixed doubles partner Akshat Shetty had also tested positive in the RTPCR test. Due to it, Ritika missed doubles event. Prior to that Ritika had to pull out from India Open as she tested Covid positive after winning the first round. In Syed Modi International.she and Simran lost the second round to Treesa Jolley-Gayatri Gopichand.

Before leaving for Iran on Sunday, Ritika talked to Lokmat Times and said " After missing couple of tournaments now we both are looking to do better in Iran Open. Our main aim is to play better and improve our ranking."

Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi have attained their career-best ranking of 77th place in the women’s doubles as per latest BWF rankings. " Even after not playing we have attained 77th place in the BWF Ranking. Although I am happy with the rise in ranking our ranking would have been much higher if we would have played all the tournaments Now we have a good chance to improve our ranking", she said.

Being a top seed, Ritika-Simran got a bye in the first round. In the quarterfinal, they will play against Russian pair Ekaterina Malkova- and Anastasiia Shapovalova. Asked about the opponents in the tournament, Ritika who has been trained under the guidance of Ajay Dayal said, " We both are in a positive mind. The Russian pair is equally good. Therefore we will have to deliver our best in the tournament".

As per tournament protocol, Ritika has already conducted her RTPCR before leaving for the tournament and it comes negative. She will have to go thru one more test at the venue.

Although injured, Ritika

has been doing well: Dayal

Box

Ritika's coach Ajay Dayal had expressed the confidence that Ritika and her partner will do better in Iran International. He said,"Although her leg was twisted during Chennai Open, she has been playing well. Both Ritika and Simran will have to be cautious against Russian pair in the second round."