Sport - Badminton

Consistency is the key, says Padukone

BANGALORE: Chetan Anand got a pat from Indian badminton maestro Pakash Padukone for his good performance in the Indian Open, but at the same time Padukone stressed the need for more consistency from Indian players.

“It was a creditable achievement to have played a Grand Prix final and Chetan has done well, but I wish he and other Indian players become a lot more consistent at this level,” Padukone said.

“Chetan has done better than expected, but at the same time, Indian players have the tendency to do well in one tournament and fare at mediocre level in other events. This has to be changed. If they get to play eight to 10 major international events, I expect them to play at an impressive level at least in half-a-dozen tournaments. I don’t say they should be winning every one of them, but they should reach a respectable level,” Padukone said.

Padukone also disagreed with the view that Chetan had to struggle to defend the points he had lost after being curbed by the Badminton Association of India in playing three events.

“He and others had ample chances in other events. They should have kept their focus and played well instead of losing their confidence,” Padukone added.

On the performances of the Indians at the Indian Grand Prix, Paudkone, who watched the event, rated Chetan’s clash with Yu Chen in the quarterfinals as the best.

“The semifinal, of course, was easy for him. In the final, he pushed himself too hard and was a little impatient and gave away too many easy points. He could have done better,” Padukone said.

Vimal Kumar, the former National coach, also praised Chetan’s display and said, “I am sure Chetan would have got his confidence back .What players like Chetan, Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhat and Anand Pawar need is a good mix of tournaments and training and Chetan is 27 and has quite a few years left in the game and I am sure he will go from strength to strength,” Vimal said.

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