National badminton coach Pulella Gopichand has set individual goals for shuttlers in terms of the number of rounds they could win in the World Championship starting in Madrid from September 18.
After preparing the shuttlers in a 10-day training camp at Hyderabad, the former All England Champion told PTI that the players were fit and ready to put in their best effort in the elite event.
"They have played lots of tournament this year and have performed well. That makes it easy to focus before a big tournament," Gopichand said.
"It is a big tournament and every round would be a tough one. I have set each of them individual goals. I would be very happy if Anup (Sridhar) gets to the second round, Saina (Nehwal) reaches the quarterfinal and so on." he said.
After new women's draw made by International Badminton Federation, some Indian players have got a tough first round.
Saina Nehwal would face a higher ranked opponent in Jian Yanjiao of China.
Saina, whose world ranking has climbed to 30 just before the tournament, had a relatively easy draw earlier.
"When she (Saina) started the year, she was way down. But now she is world number 30 and that would defenitely boost her confidence. She has a tough first round but if she clears that, the second round would be a bit easy," he said.
"Trupti (Murgunde) has got a good draw and she has the chance of clearing the first two rounds," he said. Trupti faces Larisa Griga of Ukraine in the first round.
The 10-member Indian team leaves for Madrid on Friday.
(source: Hindustantimes)
