For Sutirtha Mukherjee, Thursday was a day that dreams are made of.

The 25-year old paddler defeated compatriot Manika Batra in the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament in Doha and booked herself a Tokyo Olympics berth.

“I never thought I would be play at the international level in the early days of my career. But ever since I started playing at that level, my target was to represent my country in the Olympics. I am happy to fulfil my dream,” Sutirtha told The Telegraph from Doha on Friday.

Her road ahead, however, will not be easy. “I have to play against the best players of the world in the Olympics. So I need to get ready for tougher competition. I need to work a bit on my fitness and sharpen my game as well,” she said.

“I have not yet got the time to think how I would prepare myself for Tokyo. I have just a little more than three months in hand. I would like to train in Europe, but the final call will be taken by my coaches — Soumyadeep Roy and Poulomi Ghatak,” she added.

The postponed Tokyo Games are now scheduled to start on July 23 this year.

“I want to try my level best and make a mark in the Games,” Sutirtha, making her Olympic debut, said.

Coach Soumyadeep too was keen that she should train abroad. “If possible I would like to sent her to China or Korea for training, but she doesn’t have a sponsor and she is not even in the core group of Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). I will request SAI to include her name. Let’s see what happens,” Soumyadeep, the national coach, said.

“She is very determined. Even when she trains at our academy at Jadavpur Sanskritik Sandhya, she never wastes any time. She is always serious about her game. She has the quality to drag out her opponent and make her play according to her wish. That is her biggest advantage,” the coach, who is supposed to travel to Tokyo with the team, said.

Sharath Kamal, G Sathiyan and Manika Batra have also qualified for the singles events in the Olympics.

Sutirtha’s journey has not been smooth. In January 2015, she and three other Bengal paddlers were suspended for a year by the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) for allegedly fudging their age records.

But after a year, she came back strongly winning the nationals and becoming India No.1.

“Soumyadeepda and Poulomidi always supported me. Now I train at the Soumyadeep Poulomi Dhanuka Dhunseri UTT Table Tennis Academy. Though I am from Naihati, most of the time I stay at Jadavpur.

“I would like to thank my childhood coach Mihir Ghosh. UTT League has allowed Indians to play against the world’s top players. I am thankful to the league as well. Last but not the least — my parents. They have always been pillars of strength for me.”