Russia's national badminton team hopes for Universiade medal in pairs competition

On July 1st, the russian badminton players were some of the first athletes who moved into the Universiade Village and began preparation for competitions. 12 athletes are part of the team: Vladimir Ivanov, Ivan Sozonov, Andrey Parakhodin, Anatoly Yartsev, Denis Grachev, Nina Vislova, Evgenia Kosetskaya, Ksenia Polikarpova, Irina Khlebko, Tatiana Bibik and Anastasia Chervyakova.

According to Mayorova, the badminton players do not have intense physical activities at the moment and they pay more attention to getting used to the hall. "Before competition, badminton players usually do training games. We check structures, we get used to the floor and the lighting, we look for peculiar angles," said the coach. "We have a remarkable medical centre here and we wholly use it".

The coach of the national team recognised that conditions of accommodation and carrying out competitions in Kazan are according to the highest standards. "I feel, as on Olympic Games. I’ve been to two Olympic Games and I can compare. The city is well organised and it looks very beautiful," she said.

Russia's badminton team arrived at the World University Games with its strongest players and intends to fight for the highest medals. The claims come, first of all, from the participants in the Olympic Games. "We have hopes for men's pair Vladimir Ivanov/Ivan Sazonov. Ivanov and Vislova have also chances in the mixed category. Bibik and Chervyakova do not perform bad on the international scene," added Mayorova. "A lot of things will depend on the draws - which teams we will play against."

Asian athletes are traditionally the favourites in badminton competitions. "The strongest are the Koreans. We know nothing about Chinese team as they don't perform internationally and they are not included in the world ranking. But the level for competitions in China is very high therefore good badminton players will arrive to Kazan," Mayorova said.

The Summer Universiade badminton tournament will take place between 5t and 11 of July. The team competitions are set for July 5-7, and the individuals from July 9-11.