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Indian shuttlers embark on world meet
India's ace shuttlers are embarking for the World Badminton Championships in Birmingham starting on July 28.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 08:48 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Bangalore:
A tough draw staring in their face, India's ace shuttlers are embarking for the World Badminton Championships in Birmingham starting on July 28, promising to go the extra mile and hoping for upsets that could help them move up. National champion Abhinn Shyam Gupta runs into world number three Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia in the opening round. "I am prepared for it. I will play more than 100 per cent but it all depends on the day," said 24-year-old Abhinn, who was beaten by Taufik 1-7, 1-7, 2-7 at the Singapore Open two years ago. For Nikhil Kanetkar, it is not going to be smooth sailing either. He is pitted against the 1997 World Champion Peter Rasmussen of Denmark in the first round. "I am playing pretty good, and it's a tough draw. I will give my best," said Kanetkar, who is playing his maiden World Championships. With a tough challenge on hand, Chief Coach Vimal Kumar, who was training the Birmingham-bound shuttlers for the past two weeks in Bangalore, along with coach Ganguly Prasad, is realistic about the prospects of the Indians. "If the men's players enter the quarterfinals and the women's players make the last 16, I think it can be considered a good achievement," said Vimal. He said both Abhinn and Nikhil are established players and they have beaten top stars in the past, and if they play to their full potential, they have it in them to create upset results. (PTI)Topics mentioned in this article
Badminton
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