Rupesh-Sanave look to WBC to compensate for Olympic miss

Indian men’s doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas say they want to do well in the the World Championships and win a medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Hyderabad: They missed out of the chance to compete in Beijing Olympics and Indian men’s doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas say they want to compensate for it by doing well in the the World Championships and winning a medal in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Winner of New Zealand Open Grand Prix and runners-up at Australian Open, Rupesh and Thomas are brimming with confidence and they reckon if they play to their potential and without any pressure they can do well in the Championships. “The recent results gave us lot of confidence. We played a Malaysian and an Indonesian pair and I hope our good form continues into the world championship. We have a tough draw, as we have to take on world number 12 Japanese pair in our first match,” Thomas told reporters. “We missed out of a chance to play in Beijing Olympics as we couldn’t improve our ranking as we were not participating in enough tournaments then unlike now. But we have 2010 Commonwealth Games and our aim is to win a medal there.”“Earlier, there was not enough exposure for the doubles team but things have changed now. There has been more exposure now even junior players are also being sent for tournaments outside with the 2010 Commonwealth Games round the corner. We have now specialised Indonesian coaches,” he added. The top seeds in men’s doubles, Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan, of Indonesia had withdrawn from the Championships, which might seem to make things easier but that doesn’t bother Thomas. “Even though the top players pulled out, it doesn’t matter because all are playing very good and to reach pre-quarters we have to first beat the Japanese pair and then the Koreans to whom we had lost earlier,” he said. “Even against the top seeds we were confident as we have met them twice in Doha Asian Games and lost very close games.” Sanave-Rupesh combine had a successful 2008, with a title win at the Czech International, a final at the Dutch Open, and a semifinal at the Bulgarian Grand Prix and they don’t want to buckle under pressure here. “We are playing in India. There would be pressure because there would be people, media, all behind us but if we play with confidence and without tension we can fair well,” Thomas said. He said the decision to participate in New Zealand and Australian Open just before the World Championships was their own and it really paid off. “Before the tournament we had a discussion with our chief coach Gopichand and he suggested to skip the Australian and New Zealand Open to prepare for the WBC but we went ahead and played in the two tournaments and it has been good for us because we have played against foreign players and it has been a good experience,” he said.The world number 18 pair is eyeing to touch top 12 so that they can participate in the World Super Series Final in November. “We are ranked 18th now and my aim is to be within 12 for two reasons. First I have reached the 13th rank with Diju so I want to better that. Another is that if we can be within the 12 then we would be able to play in the World Super Series Final in November,” Thomas said. Rupesh and Thomas’ on court magic is a reflection of the bonding that they share off court. “We know each other since childhood, we have been playing since we were under 10. It’s not only on the court we are good friends out of the court as well and I enjoy playing with him. He is a good net player and I always play from the back of court,” said Thomas, who also had a stint with V Diju for two years in between before combining again with Rupesh. Bureau Report