India have been a dominant force in world badminton, and players like Saina Nehwal will try their best to win medals in Rio Olympics. India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand is happy with the preparations going on for the quadrennial event as the former star also spoke about the need of playing good badminton under pressure.
Saina, who won a bronze medal in 2012 London Olympics, is India's major hope for a medal in Rio. The Indian player has looked better in the last few competitions, and also won the Australian Superseries as well.
Though Saina is India's best bet, they will also hope for some good performances from other shuttlers in the fray. Kibdambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu are the two other male and female shuttlers in the singles competition, respectively. They have the ammunition in their bag to clinch a medal, but they need to be consistent to win a medal.
The pairing of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, who represented India in the last Olympics, will need to use their experience when they will battle against some of the great doubles shuttlers in the world. India men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy are also set to feature in the quadrennial event.
"We have a larger contingent this time. We have the men's doubles qualifying along with the women's doubles. We have Saina who has won a medal at London as an experienced player. We have K Srikanth and PV Sindhu who also have a decent chance. I believe it all boils down to having two good days and for the sort of pressure that Olympics brings, anything is possible," Press Trust of India quoted Gopichand as saying.
The badminton draw for Rio Olympics will take shape on July 26. For all these shutters, who are going to participate in the competition, consistency is going to be key in Rio to take that elusive medal home. However, Gopichand is not too worried about the draw.
"I believe the draw doesn't matter so much if you are really looking for a medal. You might have an initial bad round or at the quarterfinals. So I am not worried about that. I know the preparation have been going well."
