Keep the ambitions high, Bhambri tells her wards

Fed Cup coach Ankita Bhambri is delighted at the progress of Indian tennis players on the women's circuit and expects them to punch above their weight in the upcoming Asian Games.

The selectors had picked the top five players -- Ankita Raina (195), Karman Kaur Thandi (200), Rutuja Bhosale (388), Pranjala Yadlapalli (419) and Riya Bhatia (704) along with doubles specialist Prarthana Thombare (150), who had won the bronze with Sania Mirza in the previous edition.

All the players are busy on the circuit with Karman and Riya taking this week off to train with coach Aditya Sachdeva. “All our players are busy playing on the circuit, which is a good thing. They all will be match sharp before the Asian Games,” Bhambri told DH.

“The level of competition is very high in the Asian Games. You have some very good teams -- China, Japan, Chinese Taipei. It will be very tough. But having said that, tennis is a sport where anything can happen. You need to be mentally ready. We have a good team. They all should keep their ambitions very high.”

With Karman joining Ankita in the top-200 bracket this week, Bhambri couldn't be happier. “It is an excellent news. It will give her a lot of encouragement. With every tournament on the circuit, she will become mentally and physically stronger,” Bhambri said.

“What is impressive since the last one year is the graphs of all these girls have been going up and their ranking have become better. All are showing some great results. Whether it is Karman or Ankita winning two 25K events besides playing in the qualifiers of Grand Slam. Even Pranjala and Rutuja are playing well and showing improvements."

As for the doubles combination, Bhambri said she would take a call later. “We all will be reaching Palembang (the tennis venue) a few days before the event. It will give me a better idea then to decide on the final pairing. The good thing is the girls love the team atmosphere and know each other well. Rutuja and Pranjala recently won a doubles title. They have been all part of Fed Cup. Yes, we will miss Sania, but these girls have done well and who knows what might be in store there."