India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said that this is a rare occasion when country’s shuttlers are medal contenders in each and every category at the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta.

“We hope that we come back with medals and we have moments to celebrate. We go in with a chance in every event and very rarely this happened with the Indian team. We hope that we do well at the Games although this been a tough year for us,” Gopichand told reporters at the official send-off ceremony.

The players, the coaches, the support staff all of them put in efforts to be in good shape, he said.

“We are in good shape. Hopefully, we will have some good performances at the Asian Games. We had won a bronze in the women’s team event at Incheon,” said the former All-England champion.

The men’s team will be led by world No.8 Kidambi Srikanth and world No 13 H.S Prannoy. World No 3 PV Sindhu and India’s first Olympic medallist in badminton, Saina Nehwal, will be at the forefront of the contest in women’s category. They will be supported by CWG 2018 silver-medal winners Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in men doubles, while bronze medallists, Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa will shoulder India’s charge in women doubles.

“We had got some very good results at the World Championships as well. Overall, the entire team is looking good from doubles to singles and hopefully we will have a good shot at all of these medals. I would like to wish the entire team all the best,” Gopichand added.

Gopichand further said: “We have the right firepower and the shuttlers are ready to shoulder the nation’s hopes. The players have worked hard and their preparations looks positive of a confident show at the Asian Games.”

Star shuttler Saina Nehwal said: “All of us have prepared really hard. Last time (previous Asian Games), it was special for Indian women’s team as we won bronze and I hope this time we can try our level best to even better it. I wish the full team all the best. This time also we will do well like we did in the Commonwealth Games,” Saina said.

“Individually speaking, I am 100 percent fit to perform and look forward to a podium finish,” she added.

Rio Olympics Silver medallist P V Sindhu said: “We all are prepared well and are in full form and I think we will definitely give up our best. The traditional powerhouses like China, Japan and Korea are expected to pose challenges but we are prepared as a team and confident of a good show. Personally, I am in good form and will carry forward the confidence at the Games”

“It is a rare opportunity for me and other youngsters as we will have the opportunity to not only rub shoulders with the senior players who have all the experience and Champions of the game. We can’t get a better exposure than this,” said Sai Uttejitha Rao, one of the six youngsters going for the Asiad for the first time.

The badminton event at the Games begin with team events on August 19 and runs through August 28.

The 20-strong Indian badminton squad was given a send-off in Hyderabad by the organisers of Premier Badminton league (PBL).