Hyderabad: Former national badminton champion and coach U Vimal Kumar believes it is going to be a tall order for Saina Nehwal to qualify for the Olympics but expects medals from World Champion PV Sindhu and Men's doubles -- Satwiksairaj and Chirag Shetty.
A former coach of Saina Nehwal, when she attained her career best world no.1 ranking in 2015, Kumar also doesn't see anyone filling the big shoes of PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal straight away.
Kumar during an exclusive conversation with the ETV Bharat also reveals about the coaching facilities, training in India and why players themselves need to take responsibility for better results.
Excerpts:
Q. How do you assess India’s performance in Thailand? Did they look sluggish to you considering they were at home due to covid protocols and couldn’t train properly?
A. To some extent, yes. The top players from other countries had domestic competitions and so they were a little more match fit than our players. It was one of the reasons why our players, maybe, didn't play to their potential. It was a little disappointing as far singles performance was concerned. Doubles, I thought, we did quite well. Satwiksairaj and Chirag did very well in the Men's doubles. Ashwini and Satwiksairaj did pretty well too in the mixed doubles. In a way, pairs did better than singles.
Q. Have we lost a crucial time ahead of the Olympics?
A. That applies to everybody. Every country is suffering due to COVID-19. We can't sit on that. At the moment, we have to ensure that we have two singles players, two in women singles, one in men doubles, one in mixed doubles in the Olympic arena. If that happens, then it will be really good for badminton.
Q. Since you have coached Saina Nehwal, how do you see her performance?
A. It has been two years. She is continuously having small issues. Not major injuries but niggles. And this has been hampering her and she has not been able to give good consistent performance in the last couple of years. The time is running out for her. It is very important that in the coming tournaments, she puts up a good performance and try and qualify to get into the top 16. If she gets into the top 16, she will qualify for the Olympics. If she gets to play there, anything can happen.
Q. It seems difficult at the moment going by her recent performances, but do you see her playing at the top level in the upcoming games like All England?
A. All England is not the part of the Olympic qualification but any tournament she is playing, if she could give a good performance, it will be good for her confidence as well. That is what she needs. Some good results against some good players. If she gets her confidence back, it would be great. I am not very sure, what sort of shape she is in at the moment and how she is going to perform. But definitely, she needs to put up a good performance to qualify for the Olympic games.
Q. You have coached players at the highest level. How do you see our bench strength? Any future Sindhu’s and Saina’s you can put your finger on?
A. In women's singles, it's still Saina and Sindhu. They are our best and other girls have not come out with anything worthwhile as of now. They have some way to go before they can make a decent mark on the world stage. At smaller levels, I think, they are okay. But on a big stage, I don't see anyone breaking into the top 20 or top 25. I get a feeling it might take another 2-3 years for us to find somebody like them.
Q. Why is that?
A. There are a lot of different factors. Both Saina and Sindhu have excellent finishing strokes to finish a rally but I have not come across girls who have the strength to finish a rally. Most of our girls are now in the 17, 18, 19 age group category. They need to develop that finishing stroke. This is one aspect that I find missing in our girls. But in boys, I feel, we have a good strength. After Sai Praneeth, Srikanth and Prannoy... the next person coming up is Lakshya Sen. We have four-five of them of that level. Lakshya has really made a mark at the big stage and he is in the top 30. In the men's singles, I am a lot more hopeful than women's singles. In Men's doubles, we have some good youngsters coming up. But at the moment, Satwik and Chirag are young and they have a good lot of badminton ahead of them. They have already established themselves as one of the best in the world which is a good sign for us. In Mixed doubles, Satwik and Ashwini. In Women's doubles, we have to find strong girls because after Ashwini-Jwala... Sikki and all these players... once they are out, we need to find players of similar calibre.
Q. Sindhu recently praised facilities in London. Saina too moved from Gopichand academy to get coaching from you. Are coaching centres lacking in facilities in India considering high demands of the game and pressure to get medals in the Olympics?
A. Of course, we need more infrastructure at coaching facilities. But most of the centres are equipped with playing facilities like courts and shuttlecocks. Such things are available. Maybe in terms of coaching, I still believe in Men's doubles, we have improved a lot and still need a little more help from outside. In Men's singles, coaches have to be fit and they have to come in and be with the players. Those things are also important. But that alone is not a factor. I think players also need to take more responsibility. Support, exposure and all of those things are being provided. So I feel the top players also need to take little more responsibility. That is something I find lacking. Taking responsibility is the key because the opportunities are there for them and they need to make better use of it. In terms of facilities, no country can say that we are providing everything. I feel Indian badminton have a good support system compared to many other countries in the world. Players will always look for flaws rather than taking full responsibility. If you give them 100 things, they will look for the 101st thing which is not there. They will always look for the things that is not there. It has to go from our system and players need to take more responsibility. Almost all the top players are provided with the best of the facilities.
Q. Who according to you can win a medal for India in the Tokyo Olympics?
A. Definitely Sindhu is our best bet in Women's singles and then I would put my bets on Men's doubles. More than Men's singles, I would put my money on Men's doubles because they are still very young and they have lot more drive. In singles, it's between Sai Praneeth and Srikanth, if these two players are there, we have an outside chance. But it would be Sindhu and Men's doubles for me.
By Ayushmaan Pandey
