India para badminton coach Gaurav Khanna confident of winning five medals in Paralympics
India's para-badminton team of seven left for the Tokyo Paralympics and coach Gaurav Khanna was confident of a good show, including medal-winning performances.
It is the first time that para badminton will be played at the Paralympics.
The Indian men’s contingent has medal prospects in world No.1 Pramod Bhagat (who will be competing in the SL3 category), Krishna Nagar (SH6 category) and Tarun Dhillon (SL4 category), who are all raring to go.
Parul Parmar and the young Palak Kohli (SL3-SU5) will be the ones to look out for and shoulder medal hopes in the women's category.
Read: Paralympics 2021: Full list of Indians in action, schedule & timings (IST)
The Indian badminton team comprises Suhas Yathiraj (SL4) and Manoj Sarkar (SL3) too, who qualified after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) granted two bipartite quotas to India.
India’s badminton coach Gaurav Khanna was confident of winning five medals, including three gold. Addressing a virtual press conference, Gavurav Khanna said:
"We have a very strong team at the Paralympics. Out of the six best players in the world, two are Indians. Two from SL3 and two from SL4 category in men's singles. So, I am pretty sure our players will bring medals, and a realistic expectation will be a minimum of five medals. We are going to get five medals, including three golds, for the country."
Palak Kohli optimistic of a good show at the Paralympics
Young Indian para badminton star Palak Kohli, who will team up with Parul Parmar in the women’s doubles, said she is focussed and has left no stone unturned in preparation for the Games. She added:
"There will be pressure in the Paralympics as I will play three events in a day. But, I have prepared well with the guidance and help of my coach. So, my complete focus is on my preparation and I am confident of my performance.”
Also read: Prime Minister Modi to interact with Paralympics-bound athletes on August 17
The send-off event was organized at Gaurav Khanna Excellia Badminton Academy with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) president Deepa Malik, joint secretary of Badminton Association of India (BAI) Prabhakar Rao and Indian Olympic Association Treasurer Anandeswar Pandey joining virtually.
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