We will have a big contingent at the Olympics: Pullela Gopichand

The chief coach of Indian badminton spoke to PTI and addressed various issues. When asked about India’s chances at the Olympics, Gopichand said, “It looks like we will have a big contingent at the Olympics and if things go well, we will use our maximum entries at every event at the Games. Of course, there are other events leading up to the Olympics be it the Thomas/Uber Cup or the Indian Open GP, Super Series or the All England. These are important events en route to the Games which will help us understand where we stand and how we are prepared. We have been guilty of not being consistent this year, all of our players. And I hope that is a problem that we can address”.

While as many as four men’s players including K Srikanth, P Kashyap, H S Prannoy, and Ajay Jayaram in the fray to make the cut to the Olympics, doubts still remain as to whether there are any real chances of two men’s entries. “Hopefully. One-fourth of the qualification period is left between now and April end. So it’s a lot of time and lot of things can happen even though I hope we have our strongest team there. I don’t want to speculate, though,” said Gopichand as quoted by Indian Express.

When asked regarding Kashyap’s recovery, and his progress, Gopichand said, “I think he has recovered and started training fully. He should be ready for the league. He is confident with his training and he needs to change his mindset to say that ‘even if I train a little less, I can do well in a match’. But that’s a call we will have to take with every athlete as they age and that’s the case with Kashyap as well”.

Kidambi Srikanth has faltered several times this season and has been hugely discussed in the badminton circuit, but Gopichand feels otherwise. “The Indonesian Open gave glimpses of where he could be. Yes, he is a young player and has been going through a lot…got these really big victories early on but then everyone started figuring him out. So it’s time for him to adapt, change over, get new strokes and new thinking to his game to ensure he can ward off the pressure, which I guess made him lose a few matches last year which he normally should have won.

“He is 21-22, so it’s ok. He has time to learn. He has enough strokes in his armoury and has a lot of talent. There are problems but they can be overcome. He was somebody who played particular kind of game with very little back up at the other end,” said Gopichand.

The men’s doubles section has also been a major reason to worry as India's chances of making the cut there seem pretty bleak with Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy ranked 17 in the world. “End of the year to have couple of challengers is a good thing to have. Good progress, they haven’t won a Super Series or GP Gold enough but GP is good. Hopefully, they will progress from here,” he said.

He also voiced his opinion regarding the 'trump match' in the upcoming PBL and feels it will keep the contest on the wire. “What now happens is that almost every match is decided in the fifth tie. So spectator interest remains and a player will have to take responsibility and say I will pull out that match. So you will have more team strategies because you only have two trumps in the tie,” he said.