India's Malaysian badminton coach expects final against his country

Courtesy: IANS

Gold Coast: India's Malaysian badminton coach Tan Kim Her is expecting that the country he is guiding would be up against the country he belongs to in the final of mixed team event at the 21st Commonwealth Games.

India will be up against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in their preliminary clashes tomorrow and Kim Her doesn't see any trouble for his formidable side which boasts of stars such as Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth.

"There shouldn't be any problems for us but we can't take anyone lightly," said Kim Her, a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist for Malaysia, when asked whether he is anticipating an India-Malaysia final.

"The first two rounds of the team event should be a good warm-up before things become tougher in the quarterfinals and semifinals," he added. Defending champions Malaysia will be up against Ghana before playing Seychelles and Canada.

"Malaysia has a very stable team, including Lee Chong Wei in the men's singles, plus they have the best partners in the men's and women's doubles," Kim Her said. "We are playing for more medals at this tournament (India won four at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games), but we can't get ahead of ourselves."

The Indian badminton team is among the strongest medal contenders at the Games. India had won a gold, a silver and two bronze medals at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.