We have a good chance of an Olympic medal: Diju : India

By Mohammed Shafeeq

Hyderabad, July 25 - India's badminton doubles specialist Valiyaveetil Diju, who will be playing mixed doubles with Jwala Gutta in the London Olympics, believes they have a good chance of winning a medal.

We have good chance from this Olympics. Only 16 teams are participating and if we win two matches we will go to the semifinals, Diju told IANS.

This time we are playing group matches and not knock-out. We have good chances in the group. Even if we lose one match, we will again have a chance, said the 31-year-old who trained under Indonesian coach Edwin Iriawan at Gopi Chand Badminton Academy here.

Diju seems satisfied with his preparations with partner Jwala under the Indonesian.

It is the biggest tournament for everyone. We are really focussed on it and are looking for a medal, said the former national badminton champion. Their pair is currently ranked 14th in the world.

According to him, shuttlers from China and Denmark will pose main threats. However, they have no special strategy to take on them.

We played them before. There is no strategy. We know each other's game, added Diju, who along with Jwala became first Indians to enter quarterfinals of World Badminton Championships, held at Hyderabad in 2009.

The same year, Diju-Jwala became the first Indian mixed doubles pair to win a Grand Prix when they bagged Chinese Taipei title.

Jwala is playing good and is moving very well in court, Diju said about his partner.

Wembley Arena, the venue of the badminton matches at Olympics, is not new to the pair, having played there during World Championship last year.

We have played on those courts. They are neither going to be fast nor slow and the temperature will be around 18 degrees, he said.