HAVING finished in the top four, city’s doubles specialist Ritika Thaker will be a part of the Core Group in women’s doubles. She also ended at fifth spot in mixed doubles while city’s top singles player Malvika Bansod had to be content with the sixth position in the national selection trials that concluded at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Though it was not a good day for city shuttlers Ritika and Malvika as both of them lost their matches on sixth and final day of the tourney, Ritika’s top four finish means she will be part of the Core Group in women’s doubles.

She is eligible to be picked for Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth or Uber Cup. It will depend on how many entries India get in the major international events. If the country gets four slots, Ritika and her partner Simran Singhi will get to play. And in case India gets three slots, she might still sneak in if any of the top three pairs fail to participate for any reasons. With partner Deep Rambhiya, Ritika ended at a creditable fifth position in mixed doubles.

Meanwhile, a loss in her final match for the 5-8 positions, Malvika was pushed to the sixth spot. She, Tanya Hemanth and Tasnim Mir all ended with two wins and a loss from their last three games. On account on more points scored, Tanya pipped Malvika to take the fifth spot. Tasnim finished seventh while Purva Barve, who did not win a match ended eighth.