Gopichand wants consistency from his wards

Pullela-GopichandNew Delhi, April 22 : National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand wants more consistency from his trainees at the India Open that starts here Tuesday.

Gopichand is worried about the lack of consistency of his wards and expects them to show more maturity in their play.

"Our players have achieved good results in the last couple of years. However, they have been a bit inconsistent. But a lot of them are young, under 22, and they will take some time to adjust to the top level. They will get better and improve with time and more exposure," Gopichand told reporters on the eve of the $200,000 Super Series tournament at the Siri Fort Complex.

"We are improving and moving in the right direction. Shuttlers like Sameer Verma, Parupalli Kashyap, Ajay Jayaram and R. M. V. Gurusaidutt have been doing very well at the international stage and they will get better. They have beaten top-10 players," he said.

On being asked about the performance of the doubles teams, he said: "They are also doing good but consistency needs to be maintained. I am hopeful to see some favourable results at the end of the tournament."(IANS)