If I have something to tell Saina, I'd tell it to her coach Vimal: Pullela Gopichand

How would you sum up the Indian players' performance at the World Championships. Are you a bit disappointed that we couldn't bag more than just that silver from Saina Nehwal?
Yes, I think looking back, more than one medal could've been a possibility. We were close on few fronts. PV Sindhu's match was close (against Sung Ji Hyun in quarterfinals), women's doubles also, we were close (Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost to Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao in quarterfinals).

In the men's singles, I think we missed the plot a little bit. Out of the three matches, we could've won all three. We should have won at least one, or a couple of them, and probably moved one step closer to our second medal. Parupalli Kashyap served at match point (against Nguyen Tien Minh in Round 2). Kidambi Srikanth, too, served at match point (against Hu Yun in pre-quarters). HS Prannoy lost a close one (against Viktor Axelsen in pre-quarters). But overall, I'm very positive with the way they played. All three of them played phenomenally well. On another day, I think we could've won a couple of those matches.

Saina lost a second consecutive final to Spaniard Carolina Marin. Why do you think she is unable to get past Marin after having done the hard work of defeating the Chinese?
It's early stages to generalise. I'm sure in the months and years to come, things will change. It is just that she has lost the last two times they have met, and I think she surely has the capability of beating Marin.

How much do you still help Saina in tournaments? Do you talk to her if you spot something in her game?
I think with her coach Vimal (Kumar) being there, if I have to say something, I would rather say it to Vimal than her.

The Saina-Marin rivalry seems to be the most rivetting in women's singles at the moment. Do you think the Chinese dominance is fast reducing, at least as far as the women are concerned?
Going by the results, that is something we can safely say. The kind of dominance which used to be there from Chinese players earlier is no more there. Multiple countries have progressed. Thailand, Japan, Chinese Taipei and India have countered the stronghold of the Chinese, along with players like Marin from Spain. So I think it's something very positive and very good for women's badminton.

Srikanth has climbed to World No. 4 after some tremendous performances over the past one year. However, he has been losing in the early rounds lately. What does he need to do to stay consistent at that level?
When you look at men's singles, you'll agree that many of them have been there for many years. When you're new on the circuit, you're a new commodity. Today many of them have read your game, and understood what you do. And suddenly you are faced with a new bunch of challenges. But the fact is also that Srikanth is very young, and he is somebody who learns very quickly. He has that innate speed, strokes and power, which are very important. So with a bit of experience, I'm sure he will overcome it. To actually play different players in different conditions within very short periods of time is something that needs experience. And I'm sure he will come through.

With the form of Srikanth, Kashyap and Sindhu currently, is it realistic to expect multiple medals in badminton at the 2016 Rio Olympics?
Definitely. Women's singles, men's singles and women's doubles are three events where we have chances for medals. Yes, there is tough competition. The men's singles has solid players like Chen Long, Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. But having said that, we are not far behind. We have much younger guys, so we do have our chances there. Saina and Sindhu have beaten top players and are part of the big league. So they are always there. There is an outside chance of a medal in women's doubles and men's doubles as well. Overall, things are looking very positive going into Rio.

Saina went to Vimal Kumar to get some personal attention. We are seeing individual cricketers going to a particular coach for the same reason. Do you think personalised coaching is going to be the norm in the future?
I think sport is evolving. Sport is also becoming very rivalry-oriented. And it's not only international rivalry, there are domestic rivalries as well. So I think there's nothing wrong in doing what is best for you.

India have roped in Malaysian Tan Kim Her as the doubles coach. You'd hope he would make an impact as well...
If you look at things right now, we have somebody like Sumeeth (Reddy) and Manu (Attri) in the top 20 of the world rankings. We have Jwala and Ashwini there as well. We have the girls doubles of Pradnya (Gadre) and Sikki (Reddy) in the top 30. So we've made our bit of progress. And I'm sure the experience of Kim will be of great value to our doubles players.