'Gopichand knows us better than our parents' - B Sai Praneeth confident after his coach tips him to win a Tokyo 2020 medal
Sai Praneeth will be the only Indian competing in men's singles Badminton at the Olympics
B Sai Praneeth will be feel the weight of expectations when he steps on to the Badminton arena at Tokyo 2020, which is slated to start from July 23 2021.
He is the only Indian competing in the men's singles after Kidambi Srikanth missed out on qualification. However, Sai Praneeth feels he can certainly manage the expectations on him and perform to his best in what will be his first-ever Olympic games.
"Pressure is there before every tournament. I think I have gained enough experience to handle that now," he told Times of India.
"Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to what people say or write about me because people always want us to win. They always want a medal. So, I tune that out. But I am working hard and I am a bit confident. I’ll give my best and let’s hope everything goes well.”
Interestingly, Sai Praneeth has found support from his coach and Indian badminton legend Pullela Gopichand who feels his ward has the ability to win a medal at the Olympics.
Gopichand had opined that all Indian shuttlers who have made it to Tokyo stand a chance of winning the medal. Apart from Sai Praneeth, PV Sindhu (women's singles) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (men's doubles) will represent India in Tokyo.
Sai Praneeth is taking Gopichand's words very seriously.
"It’s very motivating to hear that. He (Gopichand) has been our coach for quite some time. I have been with him for a very long time. He knows exactly what we all are capable of. In fact, he knows us better than all our parents."
And Sai Praneeth, currently ranked 13th in the world, has the ability to shock the best players on his day. In 2019, he became the first Indian male since Prakash Padukone to win a medal at the Badminton World Championships when he clinched the bronze after reaching the semifinals.
He has also beaten legendary names like Taufik Hidayat and Lee Chong Wei earlier in his career. The 28-year-old certainly feels confident going into the Olympics.
"Definitely, I am looking to win a medal. But in a tournament like this, you can’t predict the results. This tournament is different. No player has much practice because of the pandemic. Everybody will be coming without too many games under their belt. I will definitely give my best and I am confident that I can win one if I do my part. But the result is not in your hands in a situation like this."