PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal feature as India's medalists in badminton at Summer Olympics

After it was introduced as a demonstration event in the 1972 Munich Olympics, Badminton was recognized as a discipline since the 1992 Barcelona Games. Although India is not a major powerhouse when it comes to the sport, a few outstanding once-in-a-generation talents have kept India’s prominence on the international stage.

So far, Indian shuttlers have won two medals at the mega event, while there have been a few other players making it to the quarter-finals. As we approach the postponed 2021 Tokyo Olympics in a few months time, let us have a look at the most successful Indian badminton players at the Games in the past editions.

Parupalli Kashyap (Quarter-final, London - 2012)

Parupalli Kashyap in action

A product of the Pullela Gopichand Academy, Parupalli Kashyap was the trendsetter for the current crop in the men’s half, as he gained prominence after his 2010 Bronze medal win at the Commonwealth Games. Even though the shuttler went into the 2012 London Olympics with no medal expectations, his display was one to be taken note of.

The Hyderabad-based player barged past Belgium’s Yuhan Ten and Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh to enter the round-of-16. In a bravely fought match between Kashyap and Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka, the Indian held his nerve to advance to the quarter-finals and create history by becoming the first Indian to do so in the men’s event.

The quarter-final looked a task too tough to climb for Kashyap, as he was pitted against Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei. After a well-fought first game, the Indian was humbled by the legendary player, who eventually claimed the Silver medal in London.

Kidambi Srikanth (Quarter-final, Rio de Janeiro - 2016)

Kidambi Srikanth is action during the quarter-final of the 2016 Rio Olympics

In April 2018, Kidambi Srikanth became only the third Indian after Prakash Padukone and Saina Nehwal to be ranked world no. 1 as per the BWF rankings. It was also the year in which he won a Silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

But it was a couple of years prior to the feat that the Indian achieved the pinnacle in his career, having reached the quarter-finals of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Pullela Gopichand-coached shuttler did not break a sweat en-route to the round-of-16. Srikanth edged past Denmark’s Jan Jorgenesen to reach the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event.

He was up against the legend, Lin Dan, and the odds were heavily stacked against the Indian. Surprisingly, Srikanth clinched the second game and restored parity after losing the first, but the Chinese came back with authority in the decider to sweep away with scores of 21-6, 11-21, 21-18. Thus ending Srikanth's voyage in Rio de Janeiro.

Saina Nehwal (Bronze, London - 2012)

Saina Nehwal in action during the 2012 London Olympics

Saina Nehwal had already shown the world that she was built for the kill when the quarter-final appearance during the 2018 Beijing Olympics just made her an overnight sensation.

Her success once again brought the spotlight to Badminton, several years after Pullela Gopichand, her mentor, was crowned the champion at the All England Open, in 2001.

Despite several superseries titles adding glamor to her cabinet, including the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal, she was yearning for an elusive Olympic medal as the 2012 London Games approached.

She stormed through the first couple of fixtures against Sabrina Jaquet and Lianne Tan with scores of 21-9, 21-4, and 21-4, 21-14 to further her claims and qualify for the round-of-16. The Hisar-based shuttler continued her winning streak and marched to the semi-finals without dropping a single game in the entire tournament.

However, in the last-four clash, she went down to China’s Wang Xin in straight games to crash out of the tournament. Yet, the Bronze medal match was left and there was a medal to be won. Up against Wang Xin, the Indian was down by a game.

But an injury suffered by the opponent allowed Saina to script her name in the history books, by becoming the first ever Indian shuttler to win a medal at the Olympics. Even though it was not the way she wanted, the triumph was well deserved.

PV Sindhu (Silver, Rio de Janeiro - 2016)

PV Sindhu (left) after winning the Silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics

With Saina Nehwal already establishing a foothold for India, it was time for the legacy to be carried forward. PV Sindhu was the perfect candidate to take charge of the baton, with her claim to fame coming during the 2012 Asian junior championship, where she won the Gold medal.

With the domestic badminton circuit gaining proper shape and extensive coverage, Sindhu was a household name even before she even won a major tournament.

Apart from winning the Bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, she won a few BEF events, slowly stamping authority on the global stage.

A couple of third-placed finishes in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2014 Asian games meant she was a serious medal prospect at the Rio Games.

PV Sindhu’s ride to the the semi-final was smooth, with her getting the better of Laura Sarosi (Hungary), Michelle Li (Canada), Tai Tzu-ying (Chinese Taipei), Wang Yihan (China) en-route to the semi-final to set up a date with long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara. One-step away from a medal, she pulled-off a sensational performance to down the Japanese with scores of 21-19, 21-10.

The final of the 2016 Rio Olympics sparked the beginning of an illustrious rivalry between two of the modern day greats - PV Sindhu and Carolina Marin (Spain).

Although the Indian bagged the first game, the Spaniard scripted a memorable comeback to pull back the contest and eventually claim the title with scores of 19-21, 21-12, 21-15. PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win a Silver medal in Badminton at the Olympics.

Going into the 2021 Tokyo Games, she is a major medal contender, as she also created history a couple of years ago by laying hands on the World Championship title in Basel.