Saina the 'best bet' to win medal at Rio; Sindhu & Srikanth are the dark horses: Parupalli Kashyap

OLYMPICS IS JUST FEW WEEKS AWAY and all badminton fans want Saina Nehwal to repeat what she did four years back. Former players and fellow shuttlers have stated that she holds the best chance to win a medal.

The recent shuttler to echo the same is Parupalli Kashyap. Present at the launch of a junior Delhi State ranking tournament the commonwealth Games champion said,

"Saina is the best bet, considering the rankings and her form."

He also said that PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth are the dark horses.

"Sindhu and Srikanth are like underdogs, dark horses of the tournament and anything can be expected from them."

Kashyap who at present is nursing an injury and is out of action was also of the opinion that it will be difficult for Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy to win a medal.

"I would not say that Manu and Sumit are contenders for a medal since it's a very tough competition since and this is the first time that men's double pair has qualified. I hope that they get good a win."

Talking about the women's doubles duo of Jwala Gutta/Ashwini Ponnappa, the 29-year-old said,

"They have an outside chance of winning a medal as they have always done well in big tournaments."

Kashyap hopes to get an entry into the Indonesia Grand Prix Gold. He feels fit now and will return to international circuit in September.

"I hope that I will get entry in the Indonesia GP gold but I am not sure about my entry in the next two super series because my ranking has dropped as I have not played for last few months."

He didn't forget to praise Canada Open winner Sai Praneeth,

"Praneeth has always been one of those players who is about to do well. I have always regarded him as one of the most talented players but people in India have not seen much of him."

Talking about US Open semi-finalist Ajay, Kashyap said,

"I have a selfish interest with Ajay as he is going to be my training partner for next two months. I hope he comes back motivated and pushes me in the game."