Gopichand pins faith on new bunch of youngsters
April 28th, 2011 - 8:59 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, April 28 (IANS) National coach and former All England badminton champion Pullela Gopichand is not putting too much by the shocking first round exit of Saina Nehwal from the India Open Super Series and brushed it away as a one-off bad day. Instead, he is drawing positives from the performance of the young brigade at the tournament.
Saina crashed out in the first round Wednesday while women’s doubles favourite Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the second Thursday at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
As for Saina, Gopichand says she is mentally strong enough to bounce back from such situations.
He said that Saina’s ankle injury is not why she lost the match.
“Yes she has been nursing this ankle injury since December. But it is all right now. It see it as just one bad day,” said Gopichand.
Gopichand said though he was disappointed that senior players could not perform well at home, the positive is a bunch of young brigade who have shown the stomach to fight.
“The senior players will have to do well to make the cut for the London Olympics.”
“The positive from this tournament is the new crop of players. Now there are 5-6 players who I think will need more international exposure as they have proved their talent here.”
Sourabh Verma and Guru Sai Datt reached the quarterfinal with some stunning victories.
Apart from the two, Gopichand also praised PV Sindhu who gave a tough fight to seasoned Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand before going down 19-21, 20-22 and Arundhati Pantawane, who beat the fourth seeded Ying Suet Tse of Hong Kong in the first round of qualifiers but lost in the next round.
“Sindhu is just 15 and for her to give such a tough competition to Salakjit shows her talented. These bunch of players have shown a big heart and that they belong to this stage. There is also Sai Praneeth and H.S Prannoy who are talented.”
“I will ask the government to allow them to participate in more international tournaments so that they can get the exposure,” he said.
- Seven Indians qualify for main draw of India Open Super Series - Apr 26, 2011
- India Open Super Series: Saina makes shock first round exit (Second Lead) - Apr 27, 2011
- India Open Super Series: Saina makes a tearful first round exit (Roundup) - Apr 27, 2011
- Indian shuttlers disappoint at Japan Open - Sep 20, 2011
- Saina, Kashyap, Sourabh advance to Thailand Open quarters - Jun 09, 2011
- Saina will be strong favourite for Indian Open - Apr 07, 2011
- Saina steady at fourth, Sourabh jumps 45 places in world ranking - May 05, 2011
- Thailand Open: Four Indians, including Saina, in quarters (Lead) - Jun 07, 2012
- India Open Super Series: Sourabh, Sai Datt keep India's hopes alive (Lead) - Apr 28, 2011
- Shuttler Sai Praneeth qualifies from main draw in Japan - Sep 18, 2012
- I want to be World No.1 shuttler, says Hyderabadi Sindhu (Interview) - Jul 19, 2012
- Varma, Pawar lose in Korea Open Superseries qualifier - Jan 03, 2012
- Thailand Open: Saina struggles to get past first round - Jun 07, 2012
- World Badminton: Jwala, Ashwini storm into semis, Saina exits (Lead) - Aug 12, 2011
- Shuttlers Sindhu, Jayaram advance in Japan Open - Sep 19, 2012
Tags: ankle injury, arundhati, ashwini, bad day, england badminton, gopichand, guru, gutta, international exposure, jwala, london olympics, national coach, New Delhi, pins, quarterfinal, sindhu, siri, stunning victories, tse, youngsters