Legendary shuttler Pullela Gopichand backed India to finish with their best tally of medals in badminton in the upcoming Paralympics. It is scheduled to take place in August.
Gopichand, who is also the head coach of the Indian national team, reckoned that with support from the government and NGOs, India have every chance of punching above their weight in the Paralympics.
"In the Paralympics, Indian badminton players have done very well. We as a nation have grown in the last few years as far as Parasports is concerned. With the right kind of preparation and support we are getting from the government and the other NGOs, we will have India's best medal haul at the Paralympic games," Gopichand told ANI.
India have won four medals in badminton in the Paralympics over the years. Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar won gold medals. Suhas Lalinakere And Manoj Sarkar won silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Pullela Gopichand confident of India doing well in the Olympics
Gopichand also said that the likes of PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have a great chance of finishing on the podium at the Olympics.
Moreover, Gopichand said that Satwiksairaj, who recently became the doubles World No.1 for the second time, is one of the stars to watch out for.
"I do believe all the players who qualified will have a chance to win a medal, of course Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be one of the players to look forward to. But I also do think that Prannoy, PV Sindhu, and the women's doubles, I think each one of them has a chance to win medals in the Olympics," he added.
Sindhu won the silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics after which she won bronze in Tokyo back in 2016. Recently, she was a part of the Indian women’s team that won the Badminton Asia Championships last month after beating Thailand in the final.