Badminton
Treesa-Gayatri Olympic medal contender; Anmol's fearlessness stands out: Vimal Kumar
Coach Vimal Kumar spoke highly of the women's doubles duo of Treesa and Gayatri for their victories over high-ranked pairings at the Badminton Asia Team Championships, while he was impressed with Anmol Kharb's fearlessness.
Women's doubles combo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, and young women's singles player Anmol Kharb were the stars of India's Badminton Asia Team Championships title winning show.
Coach Vimal Kumar is all praise of the women's doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and 17-year-old women's singles player Anmol Kharb as they played vital roles in India's historic Badminton Asia Team Championships title-winning performance in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
The world no. 23 Treesa and Gayatri played two important matches in the semifinal and final to pave the way for India's victory.
In the semifinal, the Indian pair prevailed over world no. 6 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in a three-gamer (21-17, 16-21, 22-20) to neutralise Japan's 1-0 lead after PV Sindhu went down to Aya Ohori in the first match.
In the final, they doubled up India's lead by clinching another three-gamer (21-16, 18-21, 21-16) against Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Pranjongjai, who are ranked 13 places above Treesa and Gayatri in the world rankings.
Treesa and Gayatri were also crucial to India's 3-2 win over China in the group stage, as they helped India draw level in the tie with a three-game win to set the stage for Anmol, who defeated Wu Luo Yu to complete India's victory.
As Treesa and Gayatri were crucial to India's magnificent win at BATC, Vimal Kumar feels these performances will make Treesa and Gayatri medal contenders at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I give a lot of credit to Treesa and Gayatri for the way they have performed this week. They have done incredibly well. They have a great chance of a medal, if they qualify for the Olympics. We can definitely expect a medal from them," Vimal Kumar told news agency PTI.
Vimal also hailed Anmol, the youngster who propelled India to its maiden Asian team title.
Playing at the senior circuit for the first time, Anmol displayed tremendous temperament, grit and determination by winning deciding rubbers against China, Japan and Thailand.
Speaking about Anmol, Vimal Kumar spoke highly of the child prodigy, "Anmol's fearlessness stands out. She's gritty and her attitude and approach are perfect for team championships. We were always concerned about women's singles, and out of the blue came Anmol. It has been heartening and gives a lot of hope to us."
