Anup Sridhar will be the lone Indian male representative in the sport at the Olympics, and he too goes to Beijing in top condition: "I'm in great shape and form and quietly confident of putting up a good show." Sridhar feels that the format of the draw makes it very open, and that a few good performances could quickly turn into something special for any player.
Sridhar has been under the tutelage of two badminton greats, Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar, along with Tom John, his personal coach. He gives a lot of credit to John and feels that it has made a world of difference to him ever since he signed him up. "Tom is extremely professional and I continue to learn a lot from him about badminton and about so much else as well."
Meanwhile, Nehwal has been coaching under another badminton great, Pullela Gopichand, and is quite upbeat about her chances as well. "I am going to take it match by match and see how well I can do," says the 18-year-old.
Both these players have come back after long and hard international tournaments. Sridhar took part in the Singapore Open, Indonesia Open and Thailand Open and is quietly satisfied. "These tournaments have been great preparation and I have returned with the sole focus of improving a few aspects of my game through some necessary tweaks."
Sridhar is not at all nervous at the prospect of playing at the Olympics and says that, while it is a special event, there is no added pressure. "If anything, it will be quite reassuring to travel with the rest of the contingent and to be able to interact with the other wonderful athletes that our country has produced," he says enthusiastically. Nehwal too is relishing the prospect of representing the country at the Games and is not a bundle of nerves, which you might have expected, given that she's just 18!
But after just breaking into the ranks of the top 20 players in the world, she is brimming with confidence. She is training with coach Gopichand at Hyderabad.
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Even Sridhar, who is ranked 31st in the world, hasn't employed any specific training method for the Games. "There are a few things such as my defence that I need to work on specifically, but generally I am looking to be fully prepared." After all, the Olympic dream is a once in a lifetime dream for many athletes.
While other Asian players will pose the biggest threat at Beijing, Sridhar is most wary of the top-ranked Chinese player Lin Dan. "He is extremely tough to beat and an excellent all-round player, but I ran him close on a couple of occasions earlier and am confident of going one step further this time."
Nehwal is determined to give her best shot at the Olympics and admits that after an indifferent start to the season her game is now much improved. "I am much stronger physically and mentally, and looking forward to the Games."
They both have high hopes and both are quietly confident of their chances. Going by their form in the past few months, it won't be a surprise if they do come home with a medal. Sridhar knows that the competition at the Olympics will be tough and the stakes extremely high. His aim is simple: to play it point by point, opponent by opponent, and to throw everything he has in his armoury at the challenges he faces.
Let's hope that the potential shown by both these shuttlers in the last few years is converted into a medal at the Games.