Business Standard

'IBL good chance for Indians to learn from foreign shuttlers'

Image

Press Trust of India Bangalore
Banga Beats coach Vimal Kumar today said while some of Indian shuttlers are doing a good job, others still need to catch up and the Indian Badminton League (IBL) is providing a great opportunity for them to learn from foreign players.

"Of course we have good singles players in Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu, and others still have to catch up," he said.

The former national coach also said there are some eight to 10 players in men's singles category who are at par with other international players and can create an upset on a given day.

Vimal said the Indian doubles pairs have been learning a lot from foreign shuttlers, especially Carsten Mogensen is giving lot of tips to Akshay Dewalkar and Aparna Balan.
 

"They get to learn a lot from him. In that way I am very happy," the Olympian said.

According to Vimal, interactions with Europeans have also helped Indian players know fascinating aspects of the sport.

"I had quite a lot of interactions with Carsten and I really like the way he follows a certain diet plan. He absolutely does not take sugar," he said.

Stating that IBL was not only helping Indian shuttlers but also European badminton, given the emergence of Carolina Marin as a future big star from the continent, Vimal said, "Europe has been struggling in the singles event, especially after the retirement of Danish girl Tine Baun. Moreover, Germany's Juliane Schenk is in twilight of her career.

"But all of a sudden from nowhere the Spanish girl Carolina has emerged. I have been impressed by her recent wins against top players. She is a big star in the making from Europe in future," he said.

"In men's singles also there are excellent players like Carsten Mogensen and Mathias Boe," Vimal added.

Moreover, it is important for European countries like Denmark, England, Sweden and Spain to excel in badminton to strike right balance, else badminton will be much tilted towards Asian countries, Vimal said.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Aug 21 2013 | 4:57 PM IST

Explore News