Sai Praneeth has a chance to become the country’s new Olympic hero in the sport of badminton. So with the pair of doubles in Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The two former mainstays, Vimal Kumar and Sanjay Sharma hope that Praneeth, Reddy and Shetty will portray themselves well in Tokyo.
Kidambi Srikanth having missed the Tokyo Olympic Cup in the men’s singles competition, the Pullela Gopichand coached Praneeth, 28, from Hyderabad, currently ranked No.15 in the world, will be India’s sole representative in the singles campaign. gentlemen. Two years ago he won the bronze medal at the BWF World Championship in Basel, a feat comparable to that of Padukone in Copenhagen 36 years ago.
While the cancellation of the Malaysian Open and Singapore Open proved to be a setback for Srikanth and Saina Nehwal, both eager to attempt an eleventh hour to reserve their passage to Tokyo, Praneeth lost the opportunity to train. to his credit before his Olympic debut.
Praneeth has played 352 singles matches on the professional circuit and won 219, including against a few top players. Most recently, he played against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in the All England round of 16 and lost a 52-minute set. He has played almost 70 singles matches since 2017; but he was far from consistent, despite winning the bronze medal at the Total BWF World Championship, losing to top Japanese Kento Momota in the semifinals. In 2019, he regularly lost to Momoto, Dane Anders Antonsen, Indonesian Anthony Ginting and Chinese SHI Yu Qi.
For the Olympics, he trained under the watchful eyes of Gopichand and Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Santo in Hyderabad. Former Indian player and coach Sharma who has seen Praneeth in action thinks the only Indian entry might be the dark horse. “He has a lot of disappointment. He’s like Chetan Anand; each of his blows was a deception. Han Jian (Chinese legend) once told me that Chetan cheated on him by playing punches. Sai Praneeth has a naturally deceptive play, and I saw undertones of Chetan in him. Maybe he’s more controlled than Chetan, who wasn’t in great shape and relied on his punches. If he (Praneeth) can match the Danes and the Japanese in terms of fitness, then he has a chance to win a medal. As a coach, I hope to get the best results from him. Prakash (Padokone) was deceptive and he had follow-up shots, but Praneeth occasionally plays reckless shots. But he’s a great player. “
Former national champion, one of the 20 best players in the world in his time, Olympian and member of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy since 1994, Vimal Kumar believes that being out of the limelight could help Praneeth. “When the focus isn’t on you, you tend to do well. I would compare it to the Sindhu of 2016; there was no expectation of her in Rio. Same thing with Praneeth now. The focus was on Saina in Rio, but it was Sindhu who quietly did his job. “
Vimal Kumar touched on the draw and fitness factors, saying, “I would love to see the draw. Then only clarity will emerge. I hope he doesn’t meet players like Kento Momoto etc. in the first round. Fitness has always been his problem. He is a very skillful player. If the draw is good, it can squeeze in. We waited 36 years for a medal at the World Championships; Praneeth won bronze in 2019 after Prakash in 1983. We are still desperate to win a medal. Better to be the underdog. “
India’s doubles hopes rest on the brilliant pair of Reddy and Shetty, who have been training for many years with former singles and doubles champion Uday Pawar. Regarding their outlook, Vimal Kumar said: “They have a good chance (of getting on the podium). They beat the best combinations in the world. This is a positive factor. They can also play a lot more freely, as there aren’t many expectations on their part. You could say they can win a medal, but the focus is not on them. I would like to see the draw. The first round is very important; this is the opportunity to qualify immediately for the quarter-finals. Once you’ve won the quarters, you play for a medal. These two have won Super Series events. “
Reddy and Shetty have played almost a hundred matches, gained experience and made history by winning a Super 500 series final in Thailand in 2019. “These two have been playing for six years, starting with the Challenge events. Satwik and Chirag seized the opportunities and asserted themselves in the competitions. They made their mark. Compared to other pairs, these two took advantage of the opportunities. “
“The only downside I see is that while the Danes and Japanese play in their internal competitions, India couldn’t do it. Satwik and Chirag have a good coach to help them out, but they needed to play games and compete which was not possible due to the circumstances. “
The exciting pair of doubles train under the guidance of a champion player like Mathias Boe. “They wanted Boe. They are pretty happy with him because they interacted with him a lot during the PBL. They have a lot of respect for him. He played at the highest level. He is an Olympic medalist. Boe has recently started coaching, so it’s the interactions that will help the Indian pair, especially the tactical part. I only see positive things in all of this. “
Vimal Kumar concluded his remarks by saying, “Getting a medal at the Olympics is a lot easier than at Super Series events. Entries are restricted and not all of the top players are present in competition at the Olympics.
Sharma, who is recovering from a year-long Cavernoma-related illness and writing a book about her surgery and rehabilitation, hasn’t turned away from the game. ”
I have a feeling these boys will do well. Both are very aggressive. Especially Satwik; he’s a backcourt monster, the way he moves and smashes. They just need to have the luck on their side. I don’t know their current game sharpness status, but my gut feeling is that they can do very well because of their sheer aggression. Chirag in the first zone is quite agile. “
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