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India's Present Position in World Badminton:
In the last decade, India has become a powerhouse in World Badminton.
With two consecutive medals in London & Rio Olympics and consistent medal-winning performances in World Championships, All England and other Superseries events, India is now a force to be reckoned with, in any badminton event.
In the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta also, India is sending a strong contingent with the likes of PV Sindhu, K Srikant and Saina Nehwal in the team.
Indian Badminton at the Asian Games:
Unlike other major tournaments, in Asian Games, the Indian badminton team's performance has been lacklustre. They have failed to win any individual medals, in the last three decades. The best ever performance has been winning bronze medals only.
Asia, being the powerhouse of World badminton, the competition in the Asian Games, sometimes become tougher than the Olympics.
India's Chances at the 2018 Asian Games:
However, with PV Sindhu in tremendous form, India can definitely hope to break the jinx and win their first ever gold medal in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
In the recently concluded World Badminton Championships, Sindhu had comprehensively defeated all the top Asian badminton stars like Yamaguchi, Okuhara & Sun-ji-Hyun, on her way to the final.
So she will be confident to repeat the same performance in the Asian Games and bring India, its first ever Gold medal in Badminton.
Saina Nehwal with her vast experience and big match temperament can also be a good bet to win the Gold Medal in Singles.
In the Men's Singles, the likes of K Srikant and HS Pranoy also have the talent to beat the best and win major tournaments, as they have shown in the past.
Although their present form is a cause of concern, if they can strike good form in the tournament, they will also be contenders for the men's singles title.
With three top quality singles players and a very good young doubles pair, the Indian Men's Team is also a dark horse to win the tournament, in the team event.
Concluding Remarks:
With such a strong contingent, India will surely do better than the previous editions of the games and win a few medals. But if they have to win a gold medal, in any discipline, then they have to be at their very best.
Schedule of the Badminton Event at the 2018 Asian Games :
Team Events: From 19th August 2018 till 22nd August 2018
Individual Events: From 23rd August 2018 till 28th August 2018
