Remember the date: 18th August 2016. Remember the name: Pusarla Venkata Sindhu. All of 21 years of age, now on the verge of something historic. It’s a red-letter moment for Indian sport.
For several years, Indian badminton had very few memorable achievements to speak about. Prakash Padukone winning the All England in 1980. Pullela Gopichand doing the same in 2001. Saina Nehwal winning the bronze at the London Olympics in 2012.
On Friday, Sindhu’s name will also be pronounced in the same breath. This, after she put forth one of her most convincing performances in recent times, defeating Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight games 21-19 21-10 in the semifinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
It was a performance from the shuttler that we have become used to seeing in the past week or so. Aggressive intent, no unnecessary errors, assured both at the near and as well as the far end of the court, and ruthless when it mattered the most – Sindhu couldn’t put a foot wrong with her play.
Along with all the above qualities, there also seems to be a calmness. An assurance that no matter what the scenario, it can be turned around. The most vivid example of this came in the match against Wang Yihan when after being 8-11 down at the break in the opening game, she fought back to win 22-20.
The win over Okuhara was a performance which made you say, “Now this is someone who deserves to be in the final.” Okuhara is by no means an easy opponent, and to take 10 straight points against her is truly special. With each of those 10 points, the confidence was building and the nation’s pulse was rising. It was a range of emotions flowing at electric speed, waiting to burst out.
For a group of supporters who were ruing the several near-misses of Indian athletes, Sindhu's fantastic run has come as the balm to the wounded dreams at just the right time. It is the tonic we needed to cure the throat and let fresh water pass through it.
Few expected her to reach this far. The first Olympics for any athlete is a learning curve – Abhinav Bindra will tell you that. And yet, this young girl has shown that by preparing hard, by putting in the hours day-in-and-day-out in the pursuit of excellence, by working on the grey areas of your game, you can get there. More importantly, an Indian can get there.
A final hurdle now beckons, so does a moment in history
After one week of some great badminton action, a final hurdle now looms before the eyes of Sindhu. One that will see her come face to face with the top seed and runaway favourite Carolina Marin. The Spaniard may be the numero uno player and the reigning world champion, but there’s no question that she will be under pressure as well, heading into perhaps the biggest match of her life.
Sitting miles away and writing this, there is little that I can guess about what is going through Sindhu’s mind right now. But going strictly by the indications on the court, the 21-year-old seems to be playing with an extremely fearless attitude, almost unaware that there are now so many expectations from her.
But whether or not the Indian is oblivious to that fact, back home in India, there are 1.2 billion – and more from around the globe – who will be rooting for her on Friday.
Indian sport has craved for moments such as this. Athletes in the country battle so much – the system, the facilities, societal pressure...the list is endless. Almost every third day, you hear stories about monetary difficulties or personal strife. That is why, you get a lift like no other on seeing them do well on the international stage.
Now, the supporters have a reason to believe. To feel hopeful, that after that unforgettable day in Beijing in 2008, when Abhinav Bindra stood on top of the podium and we heard the Indian national anthem in full volume, another Indian will give all of them the same goosebumps. It is a moment that the shooter recalled indirectly in his tweet earlier today, mentioning that he ‘felt lonely’ at the top. The rest of us will hope and pray the moment comes true.
Friday evenings in Indian households are generally spent discussing which movies to go for in a nearby cinema hall. This one, however, will be different; most families might be thinking where they could meet up and watch history in the making at Rio.
