14 April,2010 08:24 AM IST | | Sanjay Sharma
Coach Gopichand set for main draw after qualifying setback in Asian event
P Gopichand, India's badminton coach wasn't a very happy man after both PC Thulasi and Gayatri Vartak crashed out of the Badminton Asia Championship qualifiers yesterday. Thulasi is a national seniors runner-up and Gayatri, the fourth-ranked Indian.
| Grooming a tigress: P Gopichand and Saina Nehwal during the World Badminton Championship in Hyderabad, 2009 |
India has not filled all the spots given by the Asian Confederation in the main draw. Why?
We have missed some of the spots since our top juniors are out for the championships in Mexico. These juniors are also ranked at senior levels and I did not want to put in players just for the heck of it. But yes, this also shows that Indian badminton has to be more broad-based if we are to compete at the world level. We have to have more players of high standards. Our base has to be stronger.
How well is Saina Nehwal placed for this event, considering that she is the top seed?
She has got a good chance but her draw is not soft. In fact, it is very tricky as right from the first round where she takes on the Thai player, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, the waters will be dangerous for Saina. She has had very close matches in the past against Porntip and the Malaysian, Juila Pei Xian Wong. If she is able to navigate these two rounds, she will run into another Malaysian Mew Choo Wong who defeated her the last time they played. So I think that even though she is her good, confident self and has put in a lot of hard work after the All England championships, she will have to be on top of her game.
Chetan Anand has withdrawn due to injury so what chances do other Indian players have?
The fact that Chetan has withdrawn may help the two other top players Anup Sridhar and Arvind Bhatt a lot, as they are in the same quarter of the draw. Anup has a tough match against the Korean, Ye Wok Rho and after this he should win the next two rounds to set up a quarterfinals clash with Bhatt. So we can at least have one Indian in the singles semis. P Kashyap is playing very well and it will be interesting to see him play against Wing Ki Wong of Hong Kong.
Apart from Saina, if you had to pick one Indian to win here, who would that be?
Obviously it will be the mixed pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju. They are top seeded and title favourites. But apart from this, I think they are in very good form and looking forward to doing well here. They have done very well in Super Series events and reached the quarters of the World Championships.
