New points system will be the key

If anything, the new points system will have a great influence in determining the fortunes of top shuttlers at the Melbourne Commonwealth Ga...

If anything, the new points system will have a great influence in determining the fortunes of top shuttlers at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. The 21 rally-point system has already been tested out by the Indians during the recently-concluded Asian Zone preliminaries of the Thomas and Uber Cups in Jaipur, and indications are that the likes of Chetan Anand and Aparna Popat stand as good a chance of winning a medal as anybody else.

Popat, though, is not new to the feeling, having won silver at the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur and bronze in the last edition in Manchester. She is the only member of the current squad to have tasted podium success, but if rankings are anything to go by, it8217;s Anand who is the hot favourite for a medal among the Indians.

The Indians had unexpected success in Jaipur, with the men making the finals and the women narrowly missing the cut. But, coach Vimal Kumar has not exactly endeared himself to the players with allegations of favouritism and his penchant for juggling with a set formation.

Anand, Popat8217;s counterpart in the men8217;s section, is expected to be seeded fourth, thus providing him with a bright chance of winning a medal. The only hitch will be if he has to battle for the third-fourth place, introduced last year, whereby the semi-finalist is no more be assured of a bronze, something Puella Gopichand managed in the 1998 edition.

In the women8217;s section, all three singles players, Aparna, Trupti Murgunde and Saina Nehwal stand an equal chance of winning a medal, depending on the draw. All three will be unseeded and a good draw could see one getting into medal contention. Aparna8217;s experience makes her the best bet, but Saina too has the ability to upset the formbook.

The Indian coach thinks the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju has an outside chance of a medal. Although the duo8217;s world ranking has fallen to 85, they could make the semi-finals.

The men8217;s doubles pair of Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar and the women8217;s doubles pair of Jwala and Shruti Kurien will, however, need more than a good draw to progress into the medal rounds.

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India won silver in the men8217;s section and bronze in the women8217;s sections in the team championships at Kuala Lumpur. The scenario, though, will be different here with the mixed team format being used. India will be hard done by the fact that there will only be two singles to play for with the other three matches being the doubles.

Nevertheless, they have an outside chance of winning a bronze medal here as well. England are unbeaten since 1978, with Malaysia and Singapore being the other possible stumbling blocks for India.

SQUADS

MEN: Chetan Anand, Sanave Thomas, V Diju and Rupesh Kumar.

WOMEN: Aparna Popat, Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien.

Coaches: Hadi Sugianto 038; Vimal Kumar.