In the last few years, badminton has reached unparalleled heights and has become one of the most popular sports in India, thanks to the exploits of the shuttlers in tournaments across the world. The ball was set rolling by Saina Nehwal’s awe-inspiring run, which included a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a bronze at the London Olympics two years later and the ascent to the World No. 1 ranking in 2015.
The mantle from there has been picked up by 21-year-old PV Sindhu, who has risen to phenomenal heights following her silver medal campaign at the Rio Olympics last year. She carried over her rich vein of form post-Rio, picking up the China Open Super Series Premier crown, followed by an unbeaten run on home soil earlier this year where she lifted the Syed Modi GP Gold and India Open Super Series title.
Male shuttlers have progressed well
Over on the men’s side, things have picked up pace as well. Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth reached the quarter-final stage in London and Rio respectively and the latter became the first Indian to win a Super Series title at the China Open in 2014. It was followed up by a victory at the India Open the next year, where the Indian defeated Victor Axelsen in the final.
Their trophy cabinet may not be as glittering as their female counterparts’ but in a short space of time, a solid set of Indian shuttlers have made their way into the top spots in the world rankings.
As of now, there are six players from the country in the top 50 – Ajay Jayaram, Sai Praneeth, Srikanth and HS Prannoy along with the two Verma brothers, Sameer and Saurabh, which gives the nation a considerable amount of representation in the main draws of top tournaments.
This run has seen the Indians produce some outstanding results and it reached its crescendo last month as, for the first time in history, two Indians faced off in the final of a Super Series when Praneeth was up against Srikanth in the final of the Singapore Open.
India became just the fourth nation ever to have two compatriots contest a Super Series final, with Praneeth coming up trumps to win his maiden SS crown.
Question marks over the future of women’s singles
On the other hand, the rankings in the women’s section do not paint as rosy a picture. Nehwal and Sindhu occupy positions in the top 10 but after that, there is a considerable gap as one has to go as far as the 49th place to find the next Indian shuttler in the form of 21-year-old Rituparna Das. She achieved a career-high ranking of 45 last month but still has a long way to go when it comes to competing against the world’s best on the biggest of stages.
Mulyo Handoyo, who was appointed as the national coach for India in March this year, said that Sindhu has time on her side and the potential to reach the world number one spot. “We are looking to convert Sindhu into the complete package. Earlier she was limited to one style of play but now she is able to play an all-round game – rally, attack, defend. It is very tight in the top four places and we are confident that Sindhu can compete there.”
Also read: Singapore Open showed that Indian badminton is going up, says champion Sai Praneeth
However, the same cannot be said of Nehwal. She is still not at 100% after undergoing knee surgery last year as she pulled out of last month’s Singapore Open following an early exit in Malaysia and was knocked out in the opening round of the Badminton Asia Championship a week ago by Sayaka Sato, over whom she held a 6-1 head-to-head advantage prior to the game.
The tenacious 29-year-old still has time to reach the top once again but it is a long, long road ahead. Handoyo said, “The top four currently, with the likes of Tai Tzu Ying and Carolina Marin, are playing at a very high level. Saina has to work extremely hard if she wants to be world number one again.”
Need to focus on improving system: Gopichand
Nehwal and Sindhu have been the flagbearers for Indian badminton but the question of who will follow them remains unanswered. While the male representation in singles is growing with every passing tournament, the future of the women’s side faces this contentious issue. It is a daunting challenge for the future, something that national coach Pulella Gopichand admits.
“World badminton is challenging and it is very tough at the highest level. We need to focus on improving the system in the country and only then we will get the desired results. There are grass roots programs in place and we do have the likes of Rituparna breaking into the top 50,” said Gopichand. He added, “There are a lot of junior players coming up and hopefully in 3-4 years, we can have someone break through.”
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has a new president in place in the form of Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has vowed to make India a superpower by the next Olympic Games in 2020. For that, there is an urgent need for developing a well-functioning system that is athlete-centric and to make sure there is a continuous assembly line of talent coming through.
Here’s hoping the new administration delivers on its promises and we see the next Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu in the coming years!
