With a tough draw staring in their face, India's shuttlers leave today for the World badminton championships in Birmingham, starting July 28, with the hope of going the extra mile.
National champion Abhinn Shyam Gupta runs into world No. 3 Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the opening round.
"I am prepared for it. I will play more than 100 per cent but it all depends on the day," said the 24-year-old, who was beaten by Taufik 1-7, 1-7, 2-7 at the Singapore Open two years ago, about his chances.
For Nikhil Kanetkar, it is not going to be smooth sailing either. He is pitted against the 1997 World champion Peter Rasmussen of Denmark in the first round.
"I am playing pretty good, and it's a tough draw. I will give my best," Kanetkar, who is playing his maiden World championships, said.
With a tough challenge on hand, chief coach Vimal Kumar, who was training the Birmingham-bound shuttlers for the past two weeks in Bangalore, along with coach Ganguly Prasad, is realistic about the prospects of his wards.
"If the men's players enter the quarter-finals and the women's players make the last 16, I think it can be considered a good achievement," Vimal said.
He said both Gupta and Kanetkar are established players who have beaten top players in the past, and if they play to their full potential, they have it in them to create an upset or two.
Luck seems to have eluded the Indians as well. The Initial draw had pitted the Indians against relatively easy opponents. Gupta was up against Spain's Sergio Llopis while Kanetkar had drawn Sam Smith of Canada. But the International Badminton Federation conducted a redraw following an embarrassing software error, pitting the Indians against some of the best in the game.
Trupti Murgunde, the other Indian woman entry besides Aparna Popat, has the best draw among all, as she is scheduled to take on lesser-known Spain's Dolores Marco in the opening round.
India's other opening ties are:
Men's doubles:
Jaseel P Ismail/Jaison Xavier vs Tadashi Ohtsuka/Keita Masuda (Japan); V Diju/Sanave Thomas vs Sudket Prapakamol/Patapol Ngernsrisuk (Thailand).Women's doubles:
Shruti S Kurien/Jwala Gutta vs Johana Persson/Elin Bergblom (Sweden).Meanwhile, Vimal and Ganguly Prasad have emphasised the need to have round-the-year coaching camps to train the second string. Top countries churn out stars through this process, they pointed out.
According to them, short camps only help coaches to work on tactical aspects, tuning up and making players match-sharp, and not on their fitness.
