'The draw at the Olympics is a small draw. It is a 16-player draw and out of them 2-3 are just continental entries. So it is really boiling down to 13 top players.'
'It's not about the draw, but winning under pressure.'
India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand says the draw hardly matters if the shuttlers are focused on gunning for a medal at the Olympics. He believes that it will boil down to two good back-to-back matches under pressure to earn a medal at the Rio Games, starting August 5.
Seven Indian shuttlers, including London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, have qualified for the Games, and their opponents will be decided at the on July 26.
"I believe the draw doesn't matter so much if you are really looking for a medal. You might have an initial bad round or in the quarter-finals. I am not worried about that. I know the preparations have been going well.
"We have a larger contingent this time. We have the men's doubles qualifying along with the women's doubles (team). We have Saina, who has won a medal at London, as an experienced player. We have K Srikanth and P V Sindhu who also have a decent chance. I believe it all boils down to having two good days, and for the sort of pressure that the Olympics brings, anything is possible," Gopichand said.
Saina and the women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have already featured in an Olympics (London, 2012), but it will be a first time experience for Srikanth, Sindhu and the men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy.
Asked about the lack of an Olympics experience , Gopichand said, "In a way, our players being at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games is kind of an experience which is there with them. Sometimes when you don't play a multi-sport event, Olympics can become really big. But Commonwealth Games and Asian Games is a similar experience at a larger scale.
"So it is important to shut out the stars and glitch of the Olympics and focus on the game. Last time we had stayed at a hotel but this time we will be at the Village as our event is there," he added.
The former All-England champion was optimistic about the medal chances of Indian men's and women's doubles pairs, saying it is vital to be positive and grab every small opportunity that comes the way.
"The draw at the Olympics is a small draw. It is a 16-player draw and out of them 2-3 are just continental entries. So it is really boiling down to 13 top players, which means if you really have one good round you are in with a medal chance already and any of the players can crack. I am just optimistic.
"I have seen strange things happening in the Olympics, so we should just go with our preparation and a positive mind and if we have a small chance we should grab it."
The year hasn't been good for Srikanth and Sindhu; they made a series of early exits from some tournaments, but Gopichand blamed it on the hectic Olympic qualification schedule.
"The year of Olympic qualification is challenging; you don't get the time to rectify the mistakes because there is the pressure of defending points for qualification. But post the May qualification, Srikanth played one event and reached the semi-finals. So I am confident about him.
"Sindhu has been working hard. She has delivered in the past at big events, such as World Championship and Asian Games, and I am hoping she does well here," said the Dronacharya recipient.
Talking about the competition in men's and women's singles, he said: "The men's singles competition has remained pretty much the same over the last four years. The best three will still be Lee Chong Wei, Lin Dan and Chen Long.
"But the women's singles have moved primarily from the Chinese domination to a larger base of players who have won tournaments in the last few years, with Carolina Marin, Ratchanok Intanon, the Japanese and Koreans coming in.
"It is a much open field in women's; nonetheless, it boils down to two good back-to-back matches."
Gopichand said most of the top women's singles players have been inconsistent this year and there is no clear favourite for the Olympic gold.
Asked about Ratchanok, who won three consecutive titles -- in India, Malaysia and Singapore -- Gopichand replied: "She has won three back-to-back tournaments and then lost early in the next two events. So all of them have been very inconsistent. It very difficult to predict and depends on the conditions we get there."
Taking about reigning All England and World champion Carolina Marin, he said, "She has not played in the last few months. We should not take it as a baggage going into the Olympics. We should go on with our positives and not think about the records because those don't really make sense."
