Indian athletes are full of confidence and vow to give their best at upcoming Asian Games
Best chance of winning Asiad gold: Ghosal
New Delhi: He goes into the Asian Games as the top seed but Saurav Ghosal is a tad wary of the threat posed by rivals from Pakistan even though the Asia number one feels it is his best chance to convert a couple of singles bronze from the last two editions to gold in Incheon.
Expectations from squash are high after the players’ surprise success in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games where Dipika Pallikal and Joshana Chinappa won the women’s doubles gold.
Given a bye in the first round, Ghosal needs to win four matches to realise his gold dream. It looks rather straightforward on paper but the world number 16 says he will have to be at his best to overcome rivals from Pakistan, Malaysia and Hong Kong. “It is fair to say that this is my best chance for winning the gold. I am a much better player than I was four years ago. Having said that, I see every match to be tough,” Ghosal said ahead of his departure for Incheon on Monday.
The 28-year-old had beaten compatriots Ritwik Bhattacharya and Siddharth Suchde in the quarterfinals respectively at Doha and Guangzhou to assure a double bronze from a controversial draw pitting Indians in the same half. This time Ghosal is expected to meet 20-year-old Pakistani Nasir Iqbal in the quarterfinals on September 21 and the Kolkata player reckons it will be his first big test.
Iqbal may be ranked 26 places lower than the experienced Indian but Pakistanis are known to punch above their weight while representing their country. “All the players are ranked lower than me but it doesn’t mean they are not going to come hard at me. Unlike the pro tour, it (Asian Games) is a one-off tournament and everyone is working hard. You just need to play well for three-four matches to win a medal. So anyone can be dangerous. I will really have to be at my best against Nasir and whoever else I face later,” he said.
The nimble-footed Indian will also have to overcome a minor setback in his Games preparation. He suffered an Achilles injury during his second round Hong Kong Open match against Englishman Peter Barker on August 31, forcing him to retire mid-way. “luckily the tendon was not damaged, the surrounding area got strained. I just need to strengthen the area before pushing properly. I felt okay in the camp in Chennai and the injury should not affect me too much at Incheon,” said Ghosal.
His likely semifinal opponent will be 2006 champion and 35th-ranked Ong Beng Hee, who leads Malaysia’s challenge in the absence of 2010 singles winner Mohd Azlan Iskandar. The other half of the draw looks easier with second seed Max lee of Hong Kong sitting pretty to make the last four. Ghosal enjoys a 3-0 record aver lee on the PSA professional tour.
Dipa: Expectations have risen for Asiad after CWG bronze
New Delhi: She rose from oblivion by giving India its first women’s gymnastics medal in the Commonwealth Games but heading into the upcoming Asian Games, Dipa Karmakar said heightened expectations have put her under slight pressure for the event in Incheon starting September 19.
The 21-year-old became the toast of Tripura, her native state, after she bagged the bronze medal in the women’s vault event, behind England and Canada. “Yes, there’s a little bit of pressure this time around. After winning the CWG bronze now, people have expectations from me. But I think it’s a positive change of course. I am practising to give my best. I hope that I don’t disappoint my well wishers,” Dipa said.
If CWG was tough then Asian Games might be tougher with gymnasts from China, Korea and Japan hitting the floor but the Agartala-born gymnast differs on that count. “Even Commonwealth wasn’t easy. I would rate the Asian Games competition at par with CWG. If England, Canada and Australia were the big guns in Glasgow then China, Korea and Japan will be tough competitors in Incheon. So it’s three-all,” said Dipa.
Allahabad gymnast Ashish Kumar won an Asiad bronze in the 2010 Guangzhou Games but had a faulty landing in the second vault attempt to finish last in Glasgow CWG. For Dipa though Ashish’s achievements are inspiring. “I hope to get a medal. I am targetting to emulate Ashish (Kumar) bhai’s good showing in Guangzhou last time around. We follow the same routine as far as practice and training for a particular event goes. We just follow the regimen, so what we did for the Commonwealth Games, we will do for the Asian Games as well,” said Dipa.
In the Asiad, Dipa is hoping to improve the colour of her recent medal when she takes the vaulting table, floor exercises, balancing beam and uneven bars. “Though I’m struggling with an ankle strain, which I picked up in Glasgow, I hope I can overcome the pain and win a medal. Remember, no pain, no gain. I have been unable to give rest to this ankle of mine. But I am just hoping and praying that the injury doesn’t play on my mind to hamper my medal-winning chances in Incheon,” she added.
At any point of career, in success or otherwise, Dipa does not forget to thank her coach and mentor Biswasar Nandi. Dipa was six years old when Nandi took charge of her and the ward sure has done him proud. “I will give all the credit to Nandi Sir. He has been instrumental in taking me where I am. It’s his practice routine before any tournament that sets the tone for me,” said the young Dipa.
I hope to maintain momentum till Rio Olympics: Jitu Rai
New Delhi: He has just become the first Indian shooter to win five international medals in a calendar year but Jitu Rai remains hungry for more and wants to achieve as many podium finishes as possible in the run-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The 25-year-old Rai last week won an Olympic quota place with a silver medal at the ongoing World Championships in Granada, Spain, becoming the first Indian to do so. “I’ve won the quota and a silver and I would really like to continue in same vein so that I can enter the Rio Olympics on a confident note. 2016 Olympic Games remains my ultimate target, so I do not want to relax one bit and will continue to work hard,” Rai said after his career’s “biggest achievement”.
While he harbours hopes of tasting success in Olympics, the Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in Indian Army also has his eyes trained on the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon.
“Asian Games is also a huge multisport extravaganza and I would like to do well there, win a medal and bring laurels to the country,” he said a few hours before his departure for Incheon. Rai had come back from Spain on Saturday.
“The competition is going to be high but I am pretty confident of finishing on the podium and continue the momentum,” he added.
Rai bagged the white metal in the men’s 50-metre pistol event at the at the CEAR Juan Carlos I shooting range.
Talking about the moments before the event in Granada, Rai said he was upbeat after entering the finals. “The qualifying rounds have many shooters from around the world, and all of them are good. But once I was in the final, I was confident of not just earning a quota but also a medal,” he said.
In his pet event, the top-4 shooters earned Olympic quota places. The Army marksman narrowly missed out on the gold medal to South Korean double Olympic champion and world record holder, Jin Jingoh, in a closely contested final. Jin shot a total of 192.3 over 20 shots in the finals while Jitu finished with a score of 191.1.
Jitu, currently ranked fifth in the ISSF world rankings with a shooting average of 565, is having a dream year after having won the Commonwealth Games gold at Glasgow in July-August earlier this year. This is his fifth consecutive international medal in 2014.