B.Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to qualify for the Rio Olympics after the BWF World Rankings were released last Thursday.
The World No.20 pair were elated at the fact that they had finally qualified for their maiden Olympic campaign. Sumeeth believes that there is an extra responsibility on the pair now to perform above expectations as they are being given special attention after qualifying for the Games.
“Olympics is once in four years and all the players ranked higher than us would obviously be in pressure while playing us, so if we can showcase the best game, then God willing I think we can stand on the podium,” the 24-year-old told PTI.
“Now that we have qualified, we are given extra attention on court and off court in the camps, most of the players have been feeding us, so there a responsibility on both of us to ensure we give our best to get a medal for India,” he added.
Manu on the other hand is of the opinion that if they work hard and improve their fitness levels, they can make up for their lack of experience.
“Experience is important. But if you work hard, you can improve faster. There is a three-month gap now and we will look to train harder and improve our fitness for Olympics.”
“Now there is no target apart from Olympics. Like any other athlete, I want to win a medal for my country,” he said.
The pair have won the Mexican Open and also reached the final of US Open Grand Prix Gold in the last year but if their recent performances are taken into account, the Olympics might be a bridge too far. They have not been able to cross the first round of any Super Series even this year except the Indian Open, where they defeated another Indian pair in the opening fixture.
“The inconsistency is due to the number of tournaments we had to play since one year, just to make sure we qualify but we now would mostly be focusing on the Olympics so I would like to think that the results would get better from now,” Sumeet said.
“I think we need to cut down simple errors on court and not give away easy points.”
The difference maker for the pair has definitely been doubles specialist coach Kim Her Tan of Malaysia.
Manu revealed that Kim is very good analysing the game and their opponents as well as being sound and adept in the technical aspects and skills of the game. It is his appointment that has made them play better consistently and execute their plans with confidence.
