Mumbai (PTI): Badminton ace Prakash Padukone held out reasonably good hopes for India's Beijing Olympic hopefuls Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehwal, saying their task of climbing the medal rostrum was difficult but not impossible.

"The best shuttlers would be present and it would be a difficult task. But it's going to be a 32-strong draw and one or two victories over seeded players can see them into the semi-finals. You can't rule out a medal," he said on Monday at a media conference to announce the tie-up of his academy with the Tata group of companies.

Both Sridhar and Saina are set to play in the first Tata Open Badminton Tournament, to be held here from July 27-31, prior to leaving for the Beijing Games starting on August 8.