You search and read any articles lately on any badminton news channel. Most of them are statements coming out from the Indian badminton players as well as the coaches talking about how confident are they to cause many upsets in the coming OG ? For example, this dude or girl, Vimal Kumar (i think) as well Gopichand strongly claimed Nehwal is physically and mentally better than all the Chinese girls and also made a statement that the inclusion of LXR in the final line-up is because China is afraid of Nehwal. Other than that, there many talks about what a big possibility India can land a medal from XD and WD on the basis that they have beaten a Chinese pair in one out 100 meetings (LOL). Ok real talk: Like seriously ?! Other countries who are better laid low and in fact even CHINA played down their chances to win more than 2 gold medals in the Olympics. Approaching the main draw, it seems this team is the only one that has been talking a lot/too much. Can they walk the talk ? We shall see.
i'm sure they can get the full house of 4 golds. with the whole country behind them the 454.6 million to 1 odd certainly looks doable.
Dear Repentedboy, Whats ur problem with India?R u surprised that India is doing Good in Badminton OR U r Shocked That Saina had won 2 Titles Back to back in Thailand & Indonesia Beating The Best Of Chinese Players? India Has Such a huge Population and only 5 Players r going to Olympics For Badminton and these 5 r creating tension in World of Badminton ...as Media Is very Strong In India and They r Promoting Badminton ...as They See & Feel That Saina Can Really Do Wonders In These Olympics..And I hope She Wins a Medal & Make Dream Come True Of All the Indians. There is Nothing Wrong If The Gopichand Or Vimal Kumar R Confident That can really do something big in these Olympics..the Players Get The Inspirations from The Coaches Only.After all this hard work and efforts that everyone is putting and the results r coming positive everyone will talk with confidence..that they can Win. I AM SURE INDIA WILL COME WITH A MEDAL AND TALK TO THE WORLD THAT WE WILL PROMOTE MORE BADMINTON.
Nope I do not think so. Only player Nehwal is doing alright but still not good enough to express such confidence on such a big stage in Olympics. Other countries and even Malaysia have better odds at doing well but they do not talk too much to the media, revealling too much about their players' strengths and weakness plus their ability counter this and that. This is actually the first time I see a team making quite numerous bold, ambitious (over in my opinion) statements before the Game even started. They better walk the that otherwise it's all hot air lol
Some people like to talk confidently as it gives them confidence (eg. Roger Federer) India have some good players, the XD are capable of an upset, likewise the WD,MS and the WS would not be so , much of an upset. I think they have a good chance of getting a medal in one of the disciplines. bronze is as good as it will get though IMO.
Give em a break! Boy, you guys just don't give India and its much maligned Media a rest, do you now?? Let me put it in perspective for you... India has won a total of 20 medals (2 of them disputed) in the Olympics after 1900 out of which 11 came in Field Hockey between 1928 to 1980. The first Olympic Gold medal in a individual event came in 2008 in the shooting Men's 10m Air rifle event. In 2008 our medal tally was 3 (One gold and 2 Bronze) and the total rank was 50. Countries with less than 1/10th the population of India got much much more than that! For a country with a population of more than 1.2 Billion and with a cricket club that's more rich than all the Premier Football leagues combined, it surely is a heartbreaking statistic... something you'll never really understand! So, the Media here feeds off the utter despondency of the people and their hunger to do well on the world stage. Of course they won't 'Walk the Talk' but who the f*** cares!!!! It is important that the people are told that their fellow countrymen are doing their everything to bring laurels for them. The players who represent India need to believe in their hearts that they can actually win and this is what coaches like Gopichand etc keep telling their wards and keep telling any and everyone who asks about it! Just let them do what they are doing and give it a rest, will you! They aren't forcing themselves on to you and screaming in your ears, are they? If you dont like them talking, stop watching Indian News channels and websites... simple! They may not just win any of the Badminton medals on offer but I don't think any of us would begrudge them for that later. As of now, the people are happy... and hopeful!
But India seems (at least to a foreigner) to be a country that does not have a culture in competitive sport. The culture of a country can very much influence the career of its inhabitants.
I think only Saina stands a realistic chance of bagging a medal. WD and XD don't appear strong enough to challenge. So if Saina does medal, does it mean IND has walked the talk?
I hope you're not seeking a conclusive answer. That is obviously an opinion-based question. However, I imagine most eyes will be on Saina when looking for an Indian medal.
I don't like conflicts, says Saina Nehwal http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/london-olympics-2012/news/I-dont-like-conflicts-says-Saina-Nehwal/articleshow/15020000.cms according to saina... Apart from you, who else amongst the shuttlers do you think can bring home medals? I can't really say about medals, I'm sure everyone is going to give his/her best. But yes, the contingent is bigger. And what's more important is the fact that all the shuttlers going to the Olympics have been doing well. Jwala and Ashwini have done well at the Asian Championships. Kashyap has been playing really well, so it's good that more players are representing the team this time.
..what a topic to lure all the India badminton & India players' supporters & fans out from the closet..
I don't see a problem. India needs to build up it's sporting heros as there are so few of them (apart from cricket). Medal prospects are naturally going to be built up - as pointed out there are so few medal prospects in a population of over a billion. As with any country, they take pride in their sporting heros and will vocalise more. It's quite understandable. Probably you are too young but a few years ago, the Malaysian press would always talk up about the prospects of their badminton players. Obviously, they (M'sian press) are having a lean time of it at present.
If the media goes upto them and asks something you expect them to say no comments? The more the merrier and ofcourse nobody would pay any heed if its only talks and no action... While if you happen to win back to back titles defeating the strongest field you earn the right to say something. Believe it or not, A losing man no matter how much he cries gets no heads while a winner has everybody listening to what he eats, where he goes, who he dates and what not!! thats how the world is... if you cant live with it... go upto the mountains... but may be thats even not the place you would get solace these days. And anyways who cares... A sport would lose its charms if theres no aggresion and retaliation, if one loses that he shldn't play atal. Mind you only the tigers roar, while a mouse just seeks a place to hide........
Most of the Indian friends I have are generally confident people and they like to express it out.Contrary to east Asian who are known to keep their confident inside...Just different kind of culture... Nothing wrongs
Yup, only Saina has good prospect in London and may win bronze, silver, or even gold we'll see 4 years ago in Beijing, IND collected 1 gold (shooting) and 2 bronzes (boxing & wrestling). Possibly those sports also would deliver medal once again this time for IND...
..Saina's best chance to get Gold will come in...................................................2016 OG (barring any foreseeable major injuries)..
Of course you are right; what right does she have to WIN matches? Man anybody who thinks so should visit the men in white coats. Seriously... I mean, it's not like she has won any tournaments, never mind against chinese opponents, and it's not like she's improved recently at all. And lets be honest, the gap between number 1 in the world, and number 5 in the world is completely unassailable. Have you ever heard of a small football team knock out a bigger one? See. Fact is fact, so everybody must submit to my inspiring voice.
Hahahaha... Superb mate! N for those who don't get it (n I bet there'll be quite a few), this is written in IRONY! Cheers!