After easy wins against Barbados and Kenya, anxious moments await host shuttlers
After easy wins against Barbados and Kenya, anxious moments await host shuttlers
As expected, India hammered Barbados 5-0 in their group D tie at the Siri Fort Sports complex. India also had an easy outing against Kenya earlier in the games. But today the national team will face Scotland and then Wales, playing their last two group matches before the group leader is decided. India is favourite to top the group, but today both ties will have some anxious moments for the hosts.
"I expect to win without any problems, but these European teams have some experienced players and we cannot take them lightly," said team coach Pullela Gopichand. "Both Wales and Scotland have couple of good players. Saina Nehwal will have to be careful against Scotland World No 31 Susan Egelstaf. She is experienced and has been on the circuit for quite sometime," added Gopichand.
He also felt that one has to be cautious against the Scottish men's singles specialist Kieren Merriless. "We will decide who will play from our side later but both Chetan Anand and P Kashyap, who represent us in singles, will have to be in top form against Kieren," said the Gopichand.
Chetan Anand though is not perturbed. "All of us are fit and have trained hard. I have got over my problems and I don't see the Scots or the Welsh players causing any problems in the singles. I think that India will have a sweeping 5-0 win over both the teams. But yes we will be more careful than we were against Kenya or Barbados," he said.
Even Indonesian veteran Atik Johari, who is the third coach with the team, felt that India will not have any major problems, but the players need to tread with caution.
