Sport - Badminton

Koukal, Thilini – a picture of contrasts

Bangalore: Badminton players Petr Koukal and Thilini Jayasinghe present a picture of contrasts. Koukal is keen to fire away at the Beijing Olympics.

“The tougher the player, the better I play. I wish I get some tough rounds early on,” Koukal said about his prospects in the men’s section.

Sri Lankan Thilini, who is living a dream, with a touch of trepidation said: “I still cannot believe that I will be at Beijing. The girls’ draw, that figures a lot of Asian players, is tough. I just hope to do well but more than winning its all about being there.”

The duo has been training at the Tata Padukone Badminton Academy (TPBA) and despite their varying confidence levels, agree on one point – the quality of their practice sessions.

“I have worked on my defence and the physical trainer Vinod has cured me off my lower back pain. I have tried everything to get rid of it and after about two weeks being here, it’s almost gone,” Koukal said.

“Here I get more players to train with and I have learnt a lot. In fact, I am so happy being here, I have delayed my return by a few days,” Thilini said.

Koukal and Thilini also have to contend with the low patronage for badminton in their respective Countries. Football rules Czech Republic while cricket is the flavour in Sri Lanka.

“But slowly I am getting recognition and I guess everyone knows me in my town,” said Koukal. Thilini added: “by qualifying for the Olympics I have got some attention to the sport and there is talent in Sri Lanka.”

The duo spoke to the media as a prelude to the Sprite Bangalore Invitational Challenger exhibition matches that were held later on Saturday night.

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