We have a strong attack, need to make our defence better: Badminton stars Stawik-Chirag
Pullela Gopichand is to be believed, they are India’s best bet for a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. “If they play one notch below their best, even then they should win the gold. They are that good,” the badminton national head coach said about the Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who are in red hot form and have yet again proved it at the French Open Super 750 in Paris. The duo talks with BORIA MAJUMDAR about the importance of the ongoing tournament, how it will help them prepare for the Olympics, their chances and more. Excerpts:
How much does it help that the ongoing tournament is at the venue that will be used for the Olympics?
Chirag: It will help a lot. You get yourself familiar with things and given that we haven’t played in this venue, it is of serious help because we will now know what to expect come the Olympics. It is always about preparation and to be well prepared we need to know as much of what we might encounter as possible. Playing this tournament in the same venue is the kind of perfect preparation we need. The more you win, the more pressure it will bring during the Olympics. You have started the year in a stellar fashion. Multiple semi-finals and finals already.
Do you think these performances will add to the expectations, and in turn, to the pressure on you both?
Satwik: If I say there will be no pressure on us when we go to the Olympics, I will be lying. There will indeed be pressure. But then that’s why we play sports. The first thing is we
