Bengaluru: At the start of the 2025 season, Yashaswini Ghorpade set a clear target: to represent India at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya. Last week, the Karnataka paddler turned that ambition into reality when she was included in the national squad. With the table tennis events beginning on Sept 20 at Sky Hall Toyota, Yashaswini now has three months to sharpen her skills and make an impression in Japan.Before heading to the Asian Games, Yashaswini is scheduled to compete in the Commonwealth Championships in New Delhi and national ranking events. These tournaments should provide match practice and build momentum ahead of the marquee event.“Asian players are always strong in table tennis. With nations like China, Korea, Japan, and others in the fray, I need to be at my best. The ultimate goal will be to achieve glory and make a mark in my first multi-sport event, so these few months are crucial,” said Yashaswini told TOI. She will next compete at the United States Smash, starting Friday, and will also participate in the Europe Smash in Sweden, in August.“My focus is primarily on the Asiad, but these tournaments are important. A good outing will boost my confidence, but I want to take it one tournament at a time,” she said.After the Smash event in the US, Yashaswini will travel to Bengaluru and train under her coach, Anshuman Roy, at the UTT-Skies High Performance Centre for about three weeks. Anshuman, her coach for the last 14 years, has made extensive plans to aid her preparation.“There are no drastic changes needed in her game, but we will work on some match tactics. We also need to ensure that she is mentally and physically fit. I already have a couple of Indian sparring partners for her, but I have reached out to some Malaysian and Korean players with a similar playing style who will be on display at the Asian Games. The financial discussions are currently underway to get one of them here,” said Anshuman, who will travel with her for the national ranking tournaments in August.Though 21, there is no dearth of experience for the Bengaluru girl, who bagged silver in the WTT Feeder Cappadocia in Turkey in March. She also made her World Team Table Championship debut in April-May in London and will bring her experience into play. Still, the quadrennial event in Japan remains the biggest challenge of her career.
