Jwala confident of fine show at Olympics

Hyderabad, May 5(ANI): Ace woman shuutler Jwala Gutta, after confirming her Olympic berth sounded confident of doing well in the quadrennial event, to be held in London this July. Gutta will compete in two categories, with Ashwini Ponappa in women's doubles and with V Diju in mixed doubles.

Addressing mediapersons here on Friday, Gutta was overwhelmed at having reserved her Olympic spot and stated that it is a dream come true for her.

"It is a great feeling, it's history again. I think it has become a habit for me to keep creating histories, but I am happy, very happy. My family is very happy, my dad is very happy and it's been a dream for us to go to the Olympics till now and it's come true," she said.

Gutta conceded that she would have to deal with some very competent contenders for her dream gold and underscored the importance of mental toughness to excel in the big event.

"It is going to be very tough, it is everybody's dream to go there and give their best shot, because it comes once in four years and I think it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. Everybody is going to be well prepared, I am sure and we need to be strong mentally and just go there and have fun," she said.

She said that her perseverance and dedication is reflected in the drastic improvement of her ranking and praised her mixed doubles' partner V Diju for their consistency.

" I think Diju and me have performed consistently, that is why from 89, we have jumped to 1. Without performance, I don't think you will get to top 20. We reached the semi finals of China Open, so performance in both my categories have been quite consistent and that's why we are here and we are ready to participate in the Olympics," she said.

This is the first time that five shuttlers will represent India at the Olympics. (ANI)