Chetan hopes to make a mark in Hyderabad
Indian ace fine-tuning his game under Prakash Padukone
After a modest first-half of the year, Chetan Anand has set his eyes on making a mark at the World Badminton Championship in Hyderabad from August 10 to 16.
The world number 13, who is in Bangalore for a training stint at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, heads a strong Indian contingent to Championship, the first ever in the event to be held in the country.
“I have started training with Prakash at the academy in Bangalore. It is an incredible environment here and it really helps. I have not brought about any change to my training regime and perhaps won’t, unless it is pointed out,” Chetan said here on the sidelines of a badminton event.
The Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad has been spruced up to host the event and the three-time National champion said the home crowd and the familiar courts will be an added advantage for the Indian shuttlers.
“Since the World Championship is being held in Hyderabad, I think we stand a good chance of doing well. The familiar atmosphere, the people. I’m sure will add to our chances there. To me it is important that I get through the first two rounds and once I get through that it will be easier as everyone tends to look at you as a possible contender for the title,” he said.
The Arjuna awardee also said he was aiming to move up the rankings in the coming weeks.
He also spoke highly of Saina Nehwal, who won the Super Series in Indonesia last month, and his wife Jwala Gutta, who has been doing well in doubles.
“This year has not been particularly a memorable one for me so far but I haven’t done that badly either. As far as the badminton scene goes overall, I think we are doing amazingly well. Saina (Nehwal) showed us what she is made off, so did Jwala (Gutta).
The training stint in Germany helped me move up the rankings and I think I should be able to move into the top-ten slot in four weeks if all goes well,” he added.
The engineers at the Gachibowli are trying to eliminate the posibility of ‘drift’ that the Indian shuttlers seem to have a had a problem with in the past but Chetan downplayed its effect in the coming event.
