With 24 days remaining for the beginning of the Tokyo Olympics, All India Radio brings a special series on India's medal prospects at the sporting extravaganza.
 
Today we will talk about the Indian Badminton contingent.
 
172 players will vie for medals in five Badminton events at the Tokyo Olympics this time.
 
India's medal hopes are shouldered by the P.V. Sindhu, B. Sai Praneeth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.
 
The Indian shuttlers will draw inspiration from Saina Nehwal, who had become the first female badminton player in the country to win a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
 
Following this, P.V. Sindhu created history by winning a silver medal in 2016 Rio Olympics.
 
India will battle it out with traditional favourites, China, South Korea, Thailand, Denmark and Indonesia for the medal.
 
In an exclusive interview with AIR News, India's head coach for the Tokyo Olympics Badminton team, Pullela Gopichand speaks about the team's preparations.
 
Gopichand shares that the team is currently in its last leg of preparation in Hyderabad.
 
The Indian government has played a supportive role in India's quest for gold in Badminton.
 
Gopichand speaks highly of P.V. Sindhu who has taken Indian Badminton to unprecedented heights already in her young career.
 
Gopichand remarks that the team was motivated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's continuous emphasis on sports his encouraging words through the 'Mann Ki Baat ' programme.
 
Gopichand appealed to the listeners of Akashvani to shower the Indian Olympic contingent with their wishes.