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The recently-concluded 2017 World Badminton Championships will always remain memorable for every Indian badminton aficionado. With a 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 loss to Nozomi Okuhara, PV Sindhu may have had to end up with a silver medal after losing by a hair’s breadth in a brutal and brilliant final but the sheer joy of watching the Pullela Gopichand protégé leaving everything on the court in pursuit of the gold overshadowed everything.
Two Indians on the podium made our hearts swell with pride as Saina Nehwal too clinched a bronze after a year of inconsistencies and self-doubts following knee surgery in September. India’s performance not only established them as a rising powerhouse but it also raised hopes of a far brighter future.
The entire week at Glasgow was special for it was dotted with many moments to cherish and some exceptional records. Here are five records that stood out:
#1 An unprecedented haul of two medals
The 2017 World Championships ushered in a new era for Indian badminton. Two Indians finished on the podium in a single year for the very first time in this tournament, which was staged for the first time in 1977. India won its first medal in 1983 courtesy of the legendary Prakash Padukone, who brought home a men’s singles bronze.
It took the country another 28 years to taste its second medal, that was won by the women’s doubles duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in 2011.
Since 2013, India has finished with at least one medal in every World Championships. It was a teenage Sindhu, who captured India’s maiden women’s singles bronze in 2013 and repeated her heroics the very next year by emulating her own feat.
In 2015, an Indian featured in a final for the very first time after Saina Nehwal’s glorious campaign gave her and India’s first silver.
This time, India’s two most dependable golden girls both gave ample examples of their fighting skills to seize the silver and the bronze. It not only speaks volumes of how far the sport has come in the country but also signals an even brighter future.
#1 Sindhu unbeaten versus China
There’s something about PV Sindhu facing the Chinese. She always manages to find an extra gear whenever she meets a Chinese on the opposite side of the net at the World Championships.
And her stunning winning streak remained unblemished even after the conclusion of the 2017 championships. The 22-year-old has lorded over the formidable brigade, six out of six times which thoroughly establishes her fearlessness she at the biggest stage.
As an 18-year-old, the lanky Hyderabadi first reigned supreme over the second seed Wang Yihan in the third round and the seventh seed Wang Shixian in the quarter-finals at their own backyard in Guangzhou in 2013.
Interestingly, she sent packing both the former World No. 1s in straight games. Against Yihan, she ground out a 21-18, 23-21 win and against Shixian, she emerged a 21-18, 21-17 winner.
If that was considered a fluke, then she returned the next year to make a scalp of Shixian yet again. This time it was way tougher but Sindhu banked on her self-belief to secure a 19-21, 21-19. 21-15 victory over the second seed in the quarters.
In 2015, she returned empty-handed from the competition but not before becoming an insuperable barrier for the reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui. This time too, it was a gruelling contest with the Indian getting the better of the highly accomplished Xuerui, 21-17, 14-21, 21-17.
In the 2017 edition, the fierce and determined Sindhu was already ranked No. 4 and was bubbling with confidence. The Sindhu gale swept away the fifth seed Sun Yu 21-14, 21-9 in the quarter-finals and the ninth seeded Chen Yufei 21-13, 21-10 in the semi-finals for her fifth and sixth wins over the feared Chinese.
#3 Sindhu becomes first Indian to reach Olympics and World Championships finals
A year after her stupendous success at the Rio Olympics, PV Sindhu etched her name on the annals of Indian badminton by becoming the first shuttler from the country to reach the summit clash of both the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
Last year in August, the world was mesmerized by her run in Brazil when she accounted for some of the biggest names in the sport such as Tai Tzu Ying, Wang Yihan and Nozomi Okuhara to reach the title showdown. She was ultimately stopped by the two-time world champion Carolina Marin, who needed three games to prevail over the Indian.
That performance proved as the springboard of success for Sindhu, who took it further exactly 12 months later at the World Championships by making it to the final for the first time with a comfortable 21-13, 21-10 win over reigning world junior champion Chen Yufei.
#4 Quarter-final streak for Saina
Saina Nehwal’s consistency at the most elite tournaments of her sport has been unparalleled. The former World No. 1, who underwent a knee surgery last September, added yet feather to her illustrious cap.
This was the seventh consecutive time that the 27-year-old made it to at least the quarter-final stage, a record that stretches from 2009-2017. It made her the first woman to achieve this feat in the 40-year history of the championships.
Out of the seven quarter-finals, she has progressed beyond the last-eight stage only twice. In 2015, she finished as a runner-up, falling to defending champion Carolina Marin, 16-21, 19-21. This time, she advanced from the quarters only to be halted by the tenacious eventual champion Nozomi Okuhara, who ground out a 12-21, 21-17, 21-10 victory over the Indian.
#5 Three Indians in quarter-finals for the second time
The girls stole the spotlight but the stirring run by the India No. 1 men’s singles player, Kidambi Srikanth cannot be left out of the discussion. The World No. 10 came to this prestigious event riding high on his twin accomplishments at the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier and the Australian Open Superseries.
The stalwart, who has helped in bringing about a renaissance in men’s singles, was ultimately ousted by the World No. 1 Son Wan Ho 14-21, 18-21 in the last-eight. It terminated Srikanth’s incredible 13-match winning streak that had started at the Indonesia Open in June.
He might have had to bow out medalless, however, his three wins at the World Championships ensured yet another achievement for the rapidly improving Indian badminton contingent.
This was only the second time that three Indians advanced to the quarter-finals. The first time was in 2013 when India’s ever-reliable Saina and Sindhu made that far along with Parupalli Kashyap.
That year, the squad had to be satisfied with just Sindhu’s bronze. This time they have gone a notch higher by doubling that number, signifying India’s growing stature in badminton.
