Pullela Gopichand expects seven to make Rio cut

The injury worries have been never-ending in the past few months but national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Saturday said he expects at least seven players to qualify for the upcoming Rio Olympics.

“We will start training in the next couple of months (after the qualification cut-off). We expect to participate in five events, but we will focus more on training now than the tournaments,” Gopichand told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

Kidambi Srikanth, P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, and Manu Attri are among the players likely to make it to India’s badminton team to the Olympics, scheduled to be held in August this year, he said.

“In the last few months some of the players have been struggling with fitness problems but they have continued to play because of qualification. Once it is done, then we have a clear four weeks of training, and two tournaments. After that, we will have six weeks to go for that, so we will focus on training,” he said, referring to the injury sustained by Kashyap.

“Six-seven weeks of training will get all the players ready,” he said.

When asked about the prospects of winning a medal in the doubles event, he said given the format “two good matches at the Olympics could ensure a medal for Indian players”.

Gopichand said he expects Kashyap to recover soon. “It is a part of a sportsperson’s life, but it is heartbreak for him to be injured,” the former ace shuttler said.

Kashyap had retired hurt from the German Open prequarters due to a calf muscle injury.

On the performance of Jwala and Ashwini, Gopichand said that new coach Kim Tan Her is “taking care of them”.

The two players crashed out of the China Masters Grand Prix Gold tournament on Friday. “We have a coach who is in place who is travelling with them all the time,” he said.

On the changing scenario for badminton players in the country, he said while facilities have improved, challenges have also grown.

“Challenges are different, and there is lot more support (than it was during my time), but competition has also grown. Government support, their interest in game, and general interest of people in sports has improved, though there is a long way to go before we call ourselves a sporting nation,” he said.