03-Feb-11:
Ouseph aims for four - and beyond
Richard Eaton reports
 Rajiv
Ouseph wants to show he is capable of causing excitement at next
year's Olympic Games in London as he seeks his fourth men's
singles title here in Manchester.
Ouseph scored the most memorable victory of his career while
winning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in October and
he followed it by climbing within one step of the world's top
ten for the first time.
If he also captures title number four on Sunday there will only
be two men Darren Hall and Ray Stevens who have ever
achieved more. But the significance of such a success for
England's burgeoning number one would lie beyond that.
You can see how he could compete at a level between top 14 and
top six in the world," said England's singles coach, Kenneth
Jonassen, who ought to know about that seeing as he once reached
world number two.
"Not the five or six best, but I can see how he might also
compete with them when he gets physically right and his
mentality stronger," reckoned Jonassen.
This means that Ouseph needs the national championships to
provide him with an important confidence boost, as well as a
stepping stone to greater things. He is only 24 and an exciting
future is beginning to beckon.
He should have a semi-final for the second year running against
local hero Harry Wright, and another final against Carl Baxter,
who is perhaps the only player capable of beating him.
Baxter, ranked 36 in the world, is undergoing a similar training
programme as Ouseph, but working on different areas, in
particular his front court game. Ouseph is developing, amongst
other things, his physical strength and his ability to get the
shuttle down fast.
It was these improvements which helped Ouseph silence 3,000
screaming spectators at the Delhi Games while avenging a team
event defeat to Kashyap Parupalli and reaching the men's singles
final.
And it was these too which helped him deliver a fine performance
last week in Seoul. There for lengthy periods he matched Simon
Santoso, the Indonesian who reached world number three last
year, confirming to the Middlesex man that his level is "there
or thereabouts."
Despite this, Ouseph may not be at his absolute best this week.
Because the focus also is on the European team championships
later this month, the All-England championships next month, and
the start of the Olympic qualifying competition in April, both
he and Baxter were working hard in training right up until today
(Thursday).
 They
may still have some heaviness in their legs. "It's just one of
those things that we have to work through nationals," Ouseph
said.
"This is obviously still a big tournament for English players.
It's important to win. But we are not concentrating on one
thing."
Also important will be to develop a tougher mindset for later
challenges. This mindset involves "feeling that even though an
opponent may have a bigger name it does not mean he is a better
player," according to Jonassen.
"It takes time for a younger player to be convinced of that -
especially with the kind of mentality that Raj has."
Asked what this mentality might be, Jonassen added: "Raj is very
laid back. I don't think, er, I think he does know that when he
comes out aggressive on court, it brings a massive improvement
in his badminton.
"The signal it sends to the opponent is very different. It is
that 'I can handle what you have for me.'"
Here though is will be whether other players can handle what
Ouseph has for them. He wants to play in such a way that he in
a good position for three or four weeks time there are going to
be a lot of tournaments".
He also wants title number four. It will be a major surprise if
he doesn't achieve both.
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Schedule & Tickets
Schedule & Tickets
Yonex All England
08-13 March 2011
Schedule & Tickets
Schedule & Tickets |
