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It was in 1997 when star Indian paddler Mouma Das made her first appearance in the World Championships. And ever since, she has been a familiar face at the event, having made a total of 16 appearances across both the individuals World Championships and World Team Championships.
Set to participate in the team competition for the ninth time, Mouma will be making her 17th appearance at the World Championships, which is a new Asian record (alongside Thailand's Nanthana Komwong who will also be making her 17th appearance).
"This time it will be completely different. This World Championships is very important for me as we are playing in the Championship Division... which means a good performance here will help us take a step forward to Olympic qualification," Mouma told Sportskeeda.
This will only be the second time that the women's team will be competing in the Championship Division. The teams doing well at this event will earn substantial ranking points, which will help them qualify for the team event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
"If we can do well, it will be huge for us. I enjoy team events very much and I want to perform well for the team. We want to carry on from where we left in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games," the experienced pro added. She also talked about the 'team spirit' which helped them succeed at the Commonwealth Games.
In Gold Coast, the women's team comprising of Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar, Pooja Sahasrabuddhe, Suthirta Mukherjee and Mouma bagged the gold medal by beating Singapore in the final, the first instance of India winning the gold medal in this event.
Guided by the Italian mastermind Massimo Costantini, the team will be looking to make a positive start when they take on China in their first match on 29th April, Sunday. Costantini believes that the team is capable of pulling off some major upsets, Batra and Co. will be keen to prove just that.
