'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
It won't be wrong to say that Indian badminton touched several new highs in the year 2015. The past 12 months have seen some unprecedented highs for Indians in the global circuit, primarily in singles and it provided much joy to several passionate fans in the country.While there were a few disappointing days as well, they weren't overshadowed by the remarkable feats achieved by our shuttlers this year.Here are 5 best Indian performers in the year 2015:
#5 Siril Varma
While he may be known only to a few of us, but do mark the name of this kid as one for the future. 16-year-old Siril Varma clinched the silver medal at the World Junior Championships in Lima and is a product of the Pullela Gopichand academy, an institute that has produced a lot of prodigious talent for a long time.
Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, he first made headlines when he won the U15 Junior Asia Championships in 2013 and then later on in the same year, clinched the Badminton Asia Youth Championships.
At the tender age of 16, Siril seems to have adopted an extremely strenuous work ethic, something which saw him even land in a hospital earlier this year after he played 10 matches over three days in an All India Junior Badminton tournament in Kochi, but after recovered from his illness, returned to compete in the final and clinched the title.
The young lad is supported by the non-profit organisation Olympic Gold Quest and here’s hoping his breaches greater barriers in the year 2016.
#4 Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa
The inclusion of the doubles duo in this list will certainly raise an eyebrow or two, but the doubles pairing did have a few moments of joy in the year. Tye managed to clinch the Canada Open Grand Prix Gold in July and prior to that reached the semifinals of the US Grand Prix.
By their standards, it was a largely disappointing year for the duo, but if there was one achivement that they can be proud of this year it would entering the Top-10 in the doubles rankings for the first time in their careers.
There is little doubt that the duo will be India’s biggest hope when it comes to the doubles, but they certainly have a lot of work to do in order to be among the top 8 in the world and make the cut for Rio 2016.
#3 P V Sindhu
A reluctant choice in the list, P V Sindhu’s exploits in 2015 weren’t the best, but the 20-year-old did had her moments, especially during the end of the season. The 20-year-old claimed her third straight Macau Open Grand Prix Gold title in November, prior to which defeated reigning World champion Carolina Marin in a pulsating three-game contest in the semi-finals of the Denmark Open Superseries Premier.
Although she could clinch a third straight World Championships medal, she did beat reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui on her way to a quarterfinal finish. Sindhu would be the first to admit that she underperformed to her potential and will look to bounce back strongly in 2016, starting with the Premier Badminton League(PBL).
#2 Ajay Jayaram
The second name in this list will come as a surprise for a quite a few but contrary to popular belief, Ajay Jayaram had a good time in 2015, especially in the second half of the year. The 28-year-old beat all his favoured Indian competitors at the Korea Open Superseries and reached the final of the competition, after beating the likes of Viktor Axelson, Chou Tien Chen etc on his way there. He also reached the semifinals of the Russian Open.
Although he couldn't cross the line in the final, he backed that performance with a victory at the Dutch Open Grand Prix where he defended his title successfully. With Kidambi Srikanth not in the best of form and Parupalli Kashyap recovering from injury, Jayaram has a great chance to further cement his spot in India’s Men’s Singles and also can hope to seal a possible maiden Olympic berth in Rio.
#1 Saina Nehwal
Clearly above every player in the country, in 2015, Saina Nehwal provided many players of her generation and that of the upcoming one, a new hope and a new height to touch in 2015. The 25-year-old started the year by defeating Carolina Marin at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and then became the first Indian women shuttler to reach the finals of the All England Open, where she lost to Marin.
She backed that with a win at the India Open Superseries, defeating Ratchanak Intanon in the final. She added another first to her cap in August by reaching her maiden World Championships final but failed to cross the line, succumbing to the Spaniard again.
She though did defeat her at the year-ending Dubai Superseries Finals, winning in three pulsating games and keeping her chances of remaining in the competition alive. Had injuries not been a deterrent, the chances of her winning more titles would have been much higher. But nevertheless, the Indian certainly set new standards for the sport in the country and it is hoped that she returns as a much stronger player in 2016.
