Jwala Gutta focussed on fitness and Rio 2016 Olympics

Jwala Gutta

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) Top doubles shuttler Jwala Gutta said Sunday that she is focussing on improving her fitness to achieve consistency in performance, to realise her ultimate dream of winning an Olympic medal in 2016 Rio de Janeiro.

"I am happy with my on-court performance. I just need to keep fit. I need to work on my physical strength and overall fitness, otherwise me and Ashwini (Ponnappa) are doing well. We will be training together to achieve consistency in our performances," Jwala said on the sidelines of a Li Ning store opening here. The 31-year-old withdrew from the Incheon Asian Games due to a knee sprain but followed it up by playing Super Series events in Denmark and France this month.

The Hyderabadi claims to have recovered fully and will play the Hong Kong Open and Macau Open in November.

"Since I am coming back from an injury, after a certain age you need to take care of your body. I can't train as a 16-year-old but I have to take care and build my strength. From now on every tournament is a preparation for Olympics. I am looking at participating in most of the tournaments next year," said the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion.

"All these tournaments will be used as preparation for the Olympics. Next year is very important. In December, we are getting a big break. We will utilise it completely and get ready for the next season."

The southpaw also played down the impact of early exits from the Denmark Open and the French Open, saying it doesn't bother her as she is "feeling good about my game".

"Our performance in France wasn't too bad. We beat World No.11 Eefje Muskens and Selena Peik of Netherlands in the first round so it wasn't too bad," said Jwala, who also has a World Championship bronze to her name.

Jwala also praised the Indian women's team for winning the bronze at the Asiad.

"The women's team played exceptionally well. We should only be proud of them. We know how tough the competition is at Asiad as all World and Olympic champions are from Asian countries," Jwala signed off.