"We are going for gold and not just looking at a podium finish"- Yastika Bhatia amid India's training session ahead of Commonwealth Games 2022
Indian wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia stated that the Women in Blue are keen on winning the first-ever gold medal in women's cricket at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022). Team India made it to the final of the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup but faltered against Australia.
The same opposition is once again a part of India's group, alongside Pakistan and Barbados. However, the 21-year-old claimed that the Indian team is doing the hard yards in the nets and preparing in the best possible manner to emerge as gold medalists.
In a video posted on the BCCI Women's Twitter handle, Yastika Bhatia was seen answering a few questions as the Indian team continued to have quite an intense training session in Birmingham. Here's what Bhatia had to say about the opportunity to represent India at CWG 2022:
"We are very grateful for this opportunity that has been provided to us. Any match where we represent our country is a matter of pride and we are very excited. We are going for gold and not just looking at a podium finish. We are preparing accordingly."
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The southpaw also spoke about how the Women in Blue are focusing only on what they can do in their group games rather than worrying about their opponents. She added:
"Any match that you play in a tournament like Commonwealth (Games) is important for us. We are not looking at who the opposition is. We are focusing on our strength that how we can do better."
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Yastika Bhatia on playing at Edgbaston
Edgbaston is considered quite an intimidating venue for any visiting team. Moreover, the Indian women's team haven't played a single game here. But Bhatia explained how they look at it just like any other ground and prepare according to the conditions. She asserted:
"Our women's team will be playing their first match at Edgbaston. So we need to look at it as a new ground, new challenge and just go according to that."
India's squad for CWG 2022: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Taniya Bhatia (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Sabbhineni Meghana, Sneh Rana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Shafali Verma, Radha Yadav.