Indian shuttlers are all set to fly

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For the last few weeks, the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy at Gachibowli in Hyderabad has been a hub of intense activity, with the Indian contingent being put through their paces in the last few days leading up to the World Badminton Championships, which will begin at the Wembley Arena in London on August 8.

Hyderabad shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and the pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will be leading the charge.

Speaking on the Indian contingent’s chances at the Worlds, coach Gopichand expressed optimism.

“While we can’t say the draw is bad, we can’t say it is good either. It is a draw where one would need to apply oneself to do well.”

Saina, having received a bye in the first round, will have her first match most probably against Indonesia’s Adrianti Firdasari, provided the latter wins her first round match against Irishwoman Cholee Magee. That is one potential stumbling block for Saina.

“The Indonesian is a tricky player and Saina would have to be very alert to get past her. Once she does that it should be a little easier for her,” Gopi said.

Saina has been training extremely hard for the last three weeks to shrug off her recent indifferent form in order to get back to the top.

“Gopi sir, and our coach from Indonesia, Edwin Iriawan, had devised a very tough training programme,” the 20-year-old said.

“The after-effects of my injury lasted almost five months so I wasn’t able to train completely. But I’ve been training to increase my agility and I can feel the positive effect.”

Kashyap, meanwhile, will take on German Dieter Domke in the first round, and he would want to get to the next round, as he would either meet Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana, whom he had beaten earlier, or Vietnamese Tien Minh Nguyen, who he had lost to in the pre-quarterfinals of the recently held US Open Grand Prix at Orange County, California, USA.

“After the loss in USA, my head-to-head record with Nguyen is 2-2 and I would like to go one-up,” Kashyap said.

The women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are also hoping to improve upon their pre-quarterfinal appearance from last year.