Sindhu still our best bet, crammed schedule problem, says Gopichand

Mumbai : Badminton head coach Pullela Gopichand on Tuesday backed P.V. Sindhu to fire when it matters, while also blaming the crammed schedule making life difficult for shuttlers as there is Olympic qualification at stake also besides taking part in the mandatory meets.

Since winning the World Championship, Sindhu has not been at her best. "Ideally, Sindhu should have rested but world badminton makes it mandatory for you to play all the 1000s, 750s and 500s. So we almost end up playing 14-15 tournaments which are mandatory," Gopichand said.

"She's our best bet going into the big tournaments. This is what happened last year as well. She did not have a great result in October, November and in December at the year-end she beat everybody. So I'm confident that she'll make a comeback quickly," he said.

"There is no respite. You are actually playing way too many tournaments. If you look at world badminton, a number of players have withdrawn from Tai (Tzu Ying) to Carolina Marin," Gopichand said here.

The coach also heaped praise on doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy who bagged the BWF Super 500 badminton tournament after they clinched the Thailand Open in August.

"Satwik and Chirag have really been stars. They played very well and have started to look threatening and consistent at the highest stage.

It comes well with getting into the Olympics with this form and it is something that I would be very happy about."