Gopichand: We can evaluate ourselves before Rio Games

With Olympics coming in the next year, badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said today there were a few top-notch tournaments for self-analysis before the mega event.

Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand with Mumbai Rockets' badminton players HS Prannoy and Mathias Boe during a press conference ahead of the Premier Badminton League in Mumbai on Wednesday.

With Olympics coming in the next year, badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said today there were a few top-notch tournaments for self-analysis before the mega event.

“It’s still some time away from the qualification (for Rio Games). The first real benchmark will be the qualification. But having said that we have the India Open (in Delhi), GP Gold (Lucknow), Thomas and Uber Cups, Asian Championships, also in India, and the All England. These are the big events in which we have a chance to gauge ourselves,” said Gopichand here today.

The cut-off date for qualifying for the Rio Games Badminton is the first week of May, 2016.

While not committing himself to say India can better its show in 2012 at London, where Saina Nehwal created history to pick up the country’s first bronze medal in badminton, Gopichand hoped more players will qualify for the Olympics and give a bigger push to the medal hunt this time around.

“All said and done, I think the medal we won is one of the biggest moments for Indian badminton, for me personally.

To better it would be great. Even otherwise, to have a bigger contingent gives us a chance of a medal because I believe all of our players who qualify will stand a (good) chance to win a medal,” he said.