Hyderabad, August 05: “India will be the next powerhouse player in world badminton. In the past, India had only singles players but the doubles lot (Jwala/V Diju, Sanave Thomas/Rupesh Kumar) has made a good impression of late.
This is a very encouraging sign for India,” says India-born Ram Nayyar, the Canadian badminton coach, who is here for the World Championship.
Nayyar, whose family migrated to Canada when he was three years old, says Pullela Gopi Chand has done a world of good to badminton in the country. “He is a modern coach. I think he is very good. In fact when he invited him to Canada as a guest coach, he became very popular in our country. He did a fantastic job and the players responded very well to him. Gopi is a very good in communication. He has modern thinking. Being a great player himself, he is able to share his personal experiences also which is a big plus,’’ said Nayyar.
The 34-year-old coach said that badminton was not a very popular sport in Canada. “Ice hockey is the number one, like cricket in India. But badminton is picking up. But the players don’t get that level of exposure that Asian or Europe players get to. In India, I have seen some exciting players coming up. In Canada, the facilities are fantastic.
But our struggle is to make the game popular. In India, badminton is number three but that is not the case in Canada. We have to bring more awareness to the game in Canada,’’ he added.
On Canada’s chances in the World Championship, Nayyar said due to injuries, the singles players had withdrawn. “Our strength is our doubles combination.
We hope to do well since we have a decent draw,” he said.
Nayyar believed that China, the powerhouse of world badminton, would dominate the tournament. “But don’t underestimate the Indonesians. They are very good in the men’s singles.
They are aggressive and lively,’’ he concluded.
–Agencies–