Hyderabad: Former All England Champion Pullela Gopichand has predicted a double digit and biggest ever medals tally in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, which begin from Friday. India best haul was at 2012 London Olympics where they had won six medals.
“I do believe that this time around, we would have, hopefully, India’s biggest medal tally till now. We could surpass what the Indian team did in London which is six medals and hopefully get to double digit is what I am hoping for,” said the chief national badminton coach.
Speaking during a webinar announcing the collaboration of Heartfulness Institute and Dhyana, the official meditation partner of Indian Olympic contingent, Gopichand said this was possible because of support from the government.
“I just wish that with that kind of a support, which we have got, I think getting more medals strengthens the hands of the people related to sports. I do believe that whether it is shooting, wrestling, boxing or Mirabai Chanu in weightlifting, I think they have a lot of chances.’’
Gopichand, who is instrumental in developing the Dhyana ring along with biomedical technology entrepreneur Bhairav Shankar, again reiterated that PV Sindhu could win the gold in this Olympics.
However, he said this Olympics will be very different than we had in the past. “Typically Olympics is like a celebration, like a party festival there, where there are lot of young people from across the world … at every round and corner you will find a superstar from another sports, from different countries.
“Normally it is a very vibrant environment but this time around it will be almost like do-your-work-and-move kind of a place because after you lose, you have to leave the country within 48 hours, that’s the kind of norms they have.
“So this is going to be stressful. Every morning, you get up, you wear your mask, get yourself tested for temperature, so it is going to be tough.’’
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