The Ace Team - The Power Shuttlers

For taking the world badminton stage by storm and featuring among the Top Five in both the women’s and men’s rankings, exhibiting the depth and breadth of talent

- Amarnath K. Menon

Never in the annals of one-on-one sport in India have players accomplished themselves like the badminton aces did in 2017. For the first time, Indians this year featured among badminton’s world top five, both among men and women. The depth of talent has been all evident from the world rankings: P.V. Sindhu is currently world no. 3; Saina Nehwal ranks 10; Kidambi Srikanth is world no. 4; and H.S. Prannoy world no. 10. It was also the year when, for the first time, two Indians, Sindhu and Saina, finished at the podium at the World Championships.

All of them are under the tutelage of a coach who is as pragmatic as he is revered, Pullela Gopichand. The median singles rank of the top five Indian players has risen from 28 to 17 for men—the sharpest rise since 2010. Among women, the rise in the median singles rank has been relatively slower, from 57 in 2016 to 49 this year.