Commonwealth Games 2018: 'Depth in squad shows how far Indian badminton has come,' says Aparna Popat

For nine-time Indian national champion shuttler Aparna Popat, a team medal at the Commonwealth Games isn’t something new. Popat has had the honour of being a part of the squad that won the women’s team bronze in 1998 and mixed team bronze in 2006.

Nobody better than her knows how uplifting a team medal can be. Getting to lay hands on a medal after having played a key role in the team can be so rewarding. The joy pervades through the entire team and has the power to inspire them in future competitions.

The now-retired 40-year-old Popat, India’s best women’s singles star in the pre-Saina Nehwal era, feels so. The 1998 Commonwealth Games women’s singles silver medallist is absolutely confident that India’s mixed team success in Gold Coast will trigger some special performances in the individual events too.

“A team gold is always very special,” said Popat in an exclusive interaction with Sportskeeda.

“I have been at the Games in 1998 and 2006 and both those times we won a team medal. In 2002, when I played, we didn’t win a team medal.

“It’s clearly a different feeling when a team wins a medal. It just lifts the spirit of the entire team. I will confidently say that this performance will rub off in the individuals as well and there will be some superb performances there,” she added.

A win in the first rubber is vital

A first match in a team tie is always crucial. The outcome of it can very much make or break a team’s fortunes. A good start can boost a team’s spirit and a bad one can see the pressure on the team members’ shoulders burgeoning further.

And that is the reason why, a lot depended on the mixed doubles match that kicked off the final. Everyone in the Indian team was looking up to the pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy to give them the winning momentum.

Ponnappa and Rankireddy did not have it easy. Up against them was the Rio Olympic silver medal-winning pair of Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying. The Malaysians rode on their vast experience to storm back from a deficit and looked highly confident, building an 11-7 lead in the decider.

The way Ponnappa refused to be intimidated by them and stepped up to the challenge, inspiring the 17-year-old Rankireddy in the process, was highly impressive. The Malaysians had the odds in their favour but were left stunned by the fightback.

That performance helped the Indians wrest away the advantage and, most importantly, elevated the confidence level of every member on the bench.

Popat emphasized on the importance of that mixed doubles win, which steered things India’s way.

“Beating Malaysia, who’s had so many Olympic medallists, was great. They have always had prowess in doubles. That big first win in mixed doubles really set the tone for the rest of the tie,” she said.

Doubles players should get their due

Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy in action at the mixed team final on Monday

Continuing the conversation on the fabulous show of guts and gumption by Ponnappa and Rankireddy, Popat underlined the need to highlight the role a doubles win plays. India now has a top-30 pair in all of men’s, women’s and mixed doubles disciplines.

It is heartening to see the top pairs delivering consistently for quite a few months. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy grabbed a Grand Prix Gold title at the Syed Modi International last year. At the same tournament, Reddy made it to the women’s doubles final alongside the veteran Ponnappa.

Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s rise has been meteoric after Tan Kim Her was brought in to nurture the talent in doubles. In just one full year of play at the Superseries circuit, they made it to the quarter-finals twice and began 2018 with a semi-final appearance at the Indonesia Masters.

Despite making major improvements, their contribution does not garner as much attention as that of the singles exponents do. Popat very much hopes for a change, especially after Ponnappa and Rankireddy’s scintillating display.

“Doubles has improved a lot. Over the years, they have not only been performing and contributing, but their contribution has not been highlighted much.

“This time the role of the doubles should be highlighted, considering it was the first match of the tie, which is crucial for setting the tone for the rest of the matches.”

The former World No. 16 proceeded further to elaborate how such a win can free the singles players from the shackles of pressure. With no burden on their shoulders weighing them down, they can actually soar to colossal heights on the court, much like what Kidambi Srikanth did against the great Lee Chong Wei.

“When the doubles team isn’t that strong, the pressure on the singles players is immense.

“But, of late, the Indian doubles pairs have been doing so exceptionally well that the singles players have also got a bit of a respite. They are going into the matches feeling free, which means they can actually play their own game as opposed to playing under pressure.

“That makes a huge difference. In the past, whenever we have seen a team doing well in the team event at the Uber Cup or if you look at the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games, the doubles players have played a very crucial role.

“They should be given their due and it should be prominently highlighted that doubles indeed plays a huge role.”

Hard to predict Srikanth’s form

Kidambi Srikanth was a picture of calm against Lee, harking back to the days of 2017 when he single-handedly dominated the Superseries circuit, adding four titles to his name. The relentless jump smashes were back, the exquisite control in the forecourt was there again, the brutal attack was visible once more.

While it pleased badminton aficionados to see the Pullela Gopichand protégé finally coming back to form, Aparna did not want to read too much into that one performance.

“It’s very dicey to predict Srikanth’s form based on one match because his other matches have been relatively easy but he has made them look tough. He has played 22-20 games against opponents we thought he would dominate.

“But then, that’s Srikanth for you. He doesn’t really up his game unless he has to. So, you don’t know if he has been casual or not. It’s hard to actually say that he is back.”

Having said that, she was delighted to see him bringing forth his A-game when he was required to. That is what is expected of a champion, after all.

“Only thing I would say that I was glad that he delivered when he was required to. We all know he has the talent and the capability. But, to actually come out on the given day, knowing his match was so important and that he was playing Lee Chong Wei, was huge.

“I think seeing Lee losing to other players in the recent past had also given him a lot of confidence. Lee hasn’t been as consistent as before. Still, the credit goes to him for coming out and delivering under pressure against somebody that much experienced. It all counts.”

Proud to see India having multiple options

Saina Nehwal played all the women's singles matches while PV Sindhu sat out

One thing that Popat takes pride in is the depth in the current Indian badminton squad. India’s highest ranked women’s singles player, PV Sindhu sat out the entire mixed team campaign. Yet, India never experienced a hiccup and their run was smooth as ever as Saina Nehwal was always there to take care of the proceedings.

Having multiple options makes a team thoroughly strong. No longer is India dependent on just one player to carry them through. The biggest stars now actually have the option of relaxing and cheering from the sidelines while somebody else, in whom everybody has full faith, can successfully do the job.

And not just in singles, India was flexible with their choices even in the doubles section. Chopra and Reddy are the best ranked mixed doubles combine in the country according to the current world rankings, but it was the duo of Ponnappa and Rankireddy that stole the show in the summit clash.

This was unheard of a few years ago. Popat stressed on this fact while sharing her thoughts on India’s progress. The growth of a sport in a country can only be ascertained by the depth in the squad and currently, India is showing that in oodles.

“Imagine having two top class options in both men’s singles and women’s singles. Eight years ago, if your best men’s singles player was injured, then we didn’t have the same level of a second best,” Popat said.

“Now we have two equals. Rankings are rankings. But, at the Commonwealth Games, both Sindhu and Saina are at the same level and either of them could have pulled off a win and, likewise, in men’s singles, either Srikanth or Prannoy could have done it.

“So, that shows how strong we have become. Look at mixed doubles, we didn’t play Jerry-Sikki, we played Satwik and Ashwini and we still won. So, even in doubles, we are having options. That’s unbelievable!

“It shows how far the whole India squad has come. And that’s something I am really proud of,” an ecstatic Popat signed off.