Commonwealth: Gopi hopes for rich harvest

National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand today hoped that Indian shuttlers will put up a sterling performance at this year's Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

''In the previous Games, shuttlers bagged two medals,'' Padmashri Gopichand -- who also received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award -- told media here after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for promoting the sport in Madhya Pradesh and training players of the State Badminton Academy to be set up in Gwalior.

Gopichand, who bagged the All-England Badminton Championship in 2001, advised that Indians should pay more attention to fitness to compete against leading shuttlers from China, Malaysia and Singapore.

''It is not easy to confront China as -- in that country -- the infrastructure facilities and training method is much better and systematic. Many Indian players perform well in the beginning but are unable to maintain it. Dedication is required. Four major events are to precede the Games,'' he pointed out.

The state's Director (Sports) Sanjay Chaudhary said that the Academy is likely to be operational by June. The MoU is between the Sports Department and the Hyderabad-based Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy. Gopichand will play the role of the Gwalior Academy's advisor.