Asian Games 2018 | I’m a much better player now than I was four years ago, says Prarthana Thombare

Thombare might just be 24, but she has already made her mark in the Indian tennis scene with some gritty performances over the past few years. The young girl’s story to stardom seemed almost surreal as she has emerged as one of the brightest talents in tennis, especially in the women’s doubles category. Thombare partnered India’s most cherished tennis star, Sania Mirza, during the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea where the duo ended their campaign with a bronze medal. However, Prarthana reckoned that she has gotten better ever since that win and hoped to put in a good performance in this year’s Asian Games at Jakarta.

Thombare has won 3 singles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF tour in her career so far. Her most recent triumph came in the women’s doubles category as she partnered Luksika Kumkum of Thailand to win the Manchester ITF $1lakh event. Thombare added that she was keen to break into the top 100 list as soon as possible.

“Since, I have no points to lose in Jakarta, I should enjoy the competition more this time around. I played against most of the top Asian players and so I am not really concerned about the draw even though the Chinese and the Japanese players pose a big challenge,” concluded Prarthana.