Shuttling To The Top

P.V. Sindhu may have lost in the World Championships final but, there is enough evidence that points to a bright future for Indian badminton at the biggest stages.

- V. Krishnaswamy

P.V. SINDHU’S 110-minute three-game loss to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara by a wafer-thin margin in the 2017 World Championships was still fresh but her coach, Pullela Gopichand, was cool and calm. “She played a great match. Maybe a little more experience and she would’ve won,” he said. And then he told a colleague, “I don’t regret the loss. But 10 years from now, if Sindhu still hasn’t won a World Championships gold, only then will I regret this day.” From one medal coming India’s way at every World Championships since 2011, it was now two in 2017—a silver for Sindhu and a bronze for Saina Nehwal. Clarity and perspective have been Gopichand’s hallmark.

There are three crucial takeaways from this World Championships in Glasgow. First, and the most obvious, is the historic achievement of two medals at a World Championships for the first time. India has had a medal at the Worlds in 2011 (bronze for Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in women’s doubles); 2013 and 2014 (bronze for Sindhu); 2015 (silver for Nehwal); and 2017 (silver for Sindhu and bronze for Nehwal). Second, there was a reaffirmation of the depth in Indian men’s badminton, despite the elimination of all four in the fray before the semi-finals. And, last, the rapprochement between Nehwal and her former coach, Gopichand.

India has also been winning medals at the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and Super Series consistently. The progress and growth are evident. This year alone, apart from the World Championships, Indians have won titles at various levels—one at the World Super Series Premier (Kidambi Srikanth in Indonesia) and three in the Super Series—Srikanth in Australia, B. Sai Praneeth in Singapore and Sindhu in India.