Prior to the year 2012, Indian badminton had seen many memorable moments on the international stage, albeit not frequently. While the popularity levels of the sport had not reached anywhere close to cricket, supporters of Indian sport were aware of the exploits of our shuttlers in global competitions.
However, the London Olympics that year were to change the landscape of Indian badminton forever. A total of 5 shuttlers had made the cut for the Games in the British capital and while not many gave the contingent a real chance to return with a medal, not everybody ruled out the possibility either.
As it turned out, during the course of the fortnight, it proved to be a watershed Games for the sport.
Parupalli Kashyap scripted history by becoming the first Indian Men’s Singles player to reach the quarterfinals. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa were very unfortunate to miss out on a medal, getting eliminated at the same level albeit in controversial circumstances.
But all the events were only starters. The main course was still left and when it arrived, it came with a cherry on top.
Saina Nehwal had already experienced the pressure of featuring in a Summer Games, having taken part in Beijing in 2008 and entered the quarterfinals. But in London, she wanted more. She wanted the real deal. A medal.
Comfortable beginnings
After sailing past the group stages, the Indian was up against Yao Jie of Japan and defeated her opponent in straight games.Next up was Tine Baun of Denmark and here too the Indian was the dominant player, winning in straight games 21-15 22-20 to enter the semifinal stage of the competition.
However, on the biggest day of the competition until then, Saina failed to raise her game and lost to Wang Yihan of China 21-13 21-13, thereby losing her opportunity to win either the Gold or the Silver.
The Bronze was still up for grabs,however, and, on her way to that was another Chinese player- Wang Xin- an opponent against whom she had a 2-3 record, prior to the clash.
The omens didn’t look good for the Indian as her opponent showed why exactly she had the edge over her in competitions, leading the Indian, at most intervals.
The turning point in the contest for the Indian arrived in not the most pleasant of manners. With 3 game point opportunities under her belt, Xin looked set to seal the game when in attempting a down-the-line winner, she twisted her ankle on the rear court line, falling down immediately in pain.
The tournament doctors arrived in no time to have a look at her left foot and after extensive treatment, she resumed the game with a bandaged left ankle.
She sealed the game on the first opportunity after the break, but it seemed evident that the momentum had shifted in the Indian’s favour.
The second game saw Xin take a 1-0 lead, but at that point, she suffered yet another blow to the ankle, this time, while striking a direct winner, when she fell down once again. The doctors intervened again and after a while, the inevitable happened.
For a moment, if you were a sports fan, the thought of this being an Olympic medal match might not have crossed your mind. For there was a touch of sadness associated with the way the match had concluded.
It was certainly evident on Saina’s face as she walked away without a touch of happiness noticeable in her face.
Once the disappointment faded away, the realisation beckoned on every Indian. Saina had become the first shuttler from the country to stand on the podium at an Olympics and a whole generation had a goal to achieve in the upcoming years.
The significance
Any moment of such magnitude is surely going to assume significance, more so in a country like India, where sporting achievements such as this don’t happen often.
Two-time Olympian and nine-time National champion Aparna Popat felt that while Saina had done well in the past, the Olympic triumph was a stamp as to how good she was.
“I think Saina was doing well before that as well, but the Olympic medal just stamped how good she was. Because not everyone understands what the significance of a Superseries win is, but the moment you say ‘Olympic medallist’, it has a resounding sound to it. So in that sense, it was a huge, huge achievement, especially because she came so close to it in Beijing, to win it in London was very,very big,” Popat told Sportskeeda.
“The wins were coming before that as well. Saina, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa did well in 2011. We tasted success at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 as well. A lot of things we were doing well, but once the Olympic medal comes in, the belief of all the players goes up by several notches. Even after the Olympic medal, when one went to academies, you asked kids ‘whats your aim’, the first thing that came out was ‘an Olympic medal’. They know that it’s not possible to reach that peak,” she added.
Saina’s medal wasn’t India’s first big achievement in badminton, there were a few others as well. When asked where she would rate this feat, Popat didn’t hesitate to put it right at the top.
“I think it would be right at the very top. Because the Olympics has a special place. So I think its right at the top,” she said.
5 shuttlers were part of the contingent that went to London in 2012 and when asked if we can expect more than one medal from the present group at Rio, she exuded optimism and felt that Saina had the best chance among the lot to stand on the podium again.
“I certainly hope so. Last time Jwala-Ashwini missed out on a medal very narrowly. We could have got two back last time as well. Saina definitely is the frontrunner for a medal while the rest have an outside chance.
“Sindhu has done well in the big events in the past. Srikanth hasn’t been in great form off late, so it could be a bit difficult in his case. Jwala-Ashwini have an outside chance.,” she concluded.
Indian badminton has come a long way ever since Prakash Padukone won the All England title in 1980. Hopefully, post-Rio 2016, we will a further rise in badminton champions from this nation.
