We are just a few days away from the start of the 31st edition of the Summer Olympics, which will be staged in the Brazilian capital of Rio De Janerio between the 5th of August and 21st of August.
A total of 7 shuttlers will be heading to Rio in their quest to stand on the podium and it would be interesting to see who emerges as the star performer from the pack.
We asked two shuttlers- 2015 Korean Open Superseries runner-up Ajay Jayaram and 2012 Olympics quarterfinalist and reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap on who could stand on the podium at Rio.
PARUPALLI KASHYAP
I would say Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan and Chen Long have the chance to win the gold. The Women’s Singles is the most interesting event because I feel there are 6 shuttlers who are gold medal contenders namely, Saina Nehwal, Carolina Marin, Li Xuerui, Ratchanok Intanon, Tzu Ying Tai,Wang Yihan and may be Nozomi Okuhara from Japan.
I expect a few surprises as well since we play in a circuit since there are Superseries events scheduled throughout the year. There is no time. With the Olympics, we get a gap of 8-10 weeks and that changes a lot of things. The last Superseries event where all played was the Australian Open. So players can bring changes to their games. Not drastic changes, but a little tweak here or there.
Having been a part of the Olympics, I remember playing one event in between and then I went to London. A lot of changes happened in that time and I went to London as a different player.
I think P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth can be the surprise packages. Viktor Axelson and Jan O Jorgenson in the others. Srikanth and the latter can face off in pre-quarters, if both reach there.
I think last time it was quite straight-forward. There were no real major upsets. The guys with more experience, those who have trained real hard always turn out to be better. So it depends if you are consistent throughout in winning the Superseries or the last 1-2 years, those shuttlers have the edge.
Probably one or two surprises. But overall, it would be the guys who have been winning constantly.
That’s why I would say the Women’s Singles is very interesting, since many players have won the Superseries, other than an Intanon, who won three in a row this year. So that’s the most open competition, according to me.
I think for Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy, qualifying is in itself an outside achievement. In Singles, we have had champions, we have had them as coaches, which isn’t the case with doubles. Whichever group they were placed in would have been tough for them.
AJAY JAYARAM
I think the Singles players have got a reasonably good draw for the Singles. They are in with a good chance of progressing ahead. I think even the Women’s Doubles pairing of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are in with a chance as well. I think their match with the Dutch pairing would be crucial, as they are a tricky pair.
The Men’s Doubles pair have got quite a tough draw, but you never know.
I think India’s biggest medal prospects would be Saina Nehwal. She has done well recently and has a good draw as well. I think her first real challenge according to me would be in the quarterfinal.
PV Sindhu is there as well. She’s a good prospect as well. I think Kidambi Srikanth has got himself in a good group. He should comfortably progress into the Round of 16, where he might mostly meet Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark, which will be a tough match. For him to win a medal here, he will have to win 3 tough matches. That is definitely not going to be easy. But it did well at the Australia Superseries last month. So I think if he can get his best game out, he could do well.
