We are capable of beating the best, says Ashwini

Ashwini and Jwala became the first Indian shuttlers to win a medal at the Worlds in 28 years, finishing third after going down to the Chinese pair of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei 14-21, 16-21.

“I am overwhelmed by joy,” said Ashwini on the duo’s splendid run, after returning from London on Tuesday.

“We played really well to reach the semifinals. We beat the second-seeded pair on the way but we committed lot of unforced errors in the semifinal which we lost. But we have shown that we are capable of beating the best,” said Ashwini.

After their impressive show in London, Ashwini and Jwala are expected to improve their ranking of 21 when the new list comes out on Thursday.

The 21-year-old Ashwini, who trains in Hyderabad under National coach Pullela Gopichand, said the pair would continue to work hard.

“Our aim is to play at the Olympics. This is a good platform for us. We have been training hard for the past couple of months and that will continue. The target is to break into top 10 as early as possible which would ensure us an Olympic berth,”pointed out Ashwini.

The duo had etched their names in history when they took home the women’s doubles gold last year at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Ashwini was unimpressed by the Wembley Arena which will also host the badminton events of the Olympic Games. “The venue was nice but not what I expected. I think they will improve before the Games,” said Ashwini.

Ashwini-Jwala will now team up in the Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold (September 6-11) and China Masters Super Series in Changzhou (Sep 13-18) before competing in the Japan Open Super Series in Tokyo (Sep 20-25).