Gopichand bullish of an impressive Asiad

Indian badminton chief coach P. Gopi Chand said the team would love to take the confidence of an impressive showing in the recent World Championship into the Asiad.

Indian badminton players pose during a send-off ceremony in Hyderabad.

Chief national coach P. Gopi Chand hopes to have many moments to celebrate in the Jakarta Asian Games starting next week.

Speaking at the send-off ceremony to the 20-member Indian badminton contingent here on Monday night, Gopi said the team would love to take the confidence of an impressive showing in the recent World Championship into the Asiad.

“The women’s team won a bronze in the last edition and the best part of this team is that India has a chance in every event in Jakarta,” Gopi said.

Read: Still missing gold and silver

“It has been a tough year so far but I am glad the way the players have responded to the challenges thanks to the excellent job by the entire support staff to keep them fit right through,” he added.

“Hopefully, the entire contingent will return with a much better medal haul this time around even though the competition is expected to be really tough as Asia has been the powerhouse of badminton over the years,” Gopi felt.

For her part, London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal too was hopeful of an improved showing this time around in the Asiad. “The women’s team had a memorable outing last time winning a team bronze. We are capable of producing better results,” she said.

Two-time World championship World Championship silver medallist P.V. Sindhu felt the players are capable of living up to the expectations.

One of the notable absentees at the event was star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth who preferred to stay away rather than indulge in any media interactions which he felt were not a good augury.

Mr. V. Chamundeswaranath, Telangana Badminton Association vice-president, announced that the doubles combinations will be presented with a car if they were to win a gold or even a silver.