Talented, gritty and monster mentality. The adjectives were all too familiar and every time a shuttler won a title or a medal, the words reverberated across the nation. They were considered as top-class. It was not restricted to women’s singles alone but men too started to dominate and thrive. World Championships medals, Super Series titles and host of others flowed. Things started looking up. Even last year there were successes though a bit more sporadic.
However, with just over a year left for the 2024 Paris Olympics to commence, the country’s top singles players are struggling this season. Even a goliath player like PV Sindhu, someone who’s known to find solutions even during trying circumstances, has huffed and puffed with not much to show in 2023. The doubles teams have been the bright spot.
Returning after injury is always considered to be a monumental challenge in every sport and Sindhu is discovering the reality. It’s the same with Lakshya Sen, considered to be one of the brightest talent in the country. Kidambi Srikanth, a former World No 1 in the men’s section, has also been off colour for a while and clearly facing confidence issues at the moment. Given their struggles, it’s a huge concern with the Olympic qualification phase that started from May 1. Things will get more complicated as events will come thick and fast and players will not find enough breathing space to reflect on their mistakes and rectify them. There are multiple factors — lack of quality foreign coaches, form and spate of injuries — that have hindered their progress.
Despite the dip in form, the Badminton Federation of India (BAI), the governing body of the sport in the country, is hopeful that shuttlers, under the guidance of national coaches, can find answers soon. “Sindhu and Prannoy (HS) should do well. Lakshya and Srikanth are on the borderline. In the upcoming major tournaments, they have to perform in order to qualify. In the women’s singles, we don’t know if there’ll be a second shuttler. Performing in the smaller events won’t be beneficial as far as Olympic qualification is concerned,” Sanjay Mishra, BAI secretary general, said.
Mishra’s take on ‘smaller events’ was meant for youngsters like Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap and Priyanshu Rajawat, the singles bunch, who are expected to be India’s mainstays in the coming years. Still learning the fine nuances of the sport at the elite level, it goes without saying that it is going to be a herculean task for the youngsters to make a case for Paris Olympics, something that Mishra acknowledges.
“Second line of shuttlers should also perform well as they go on to gain experience. That’s a challenge.” Sindhu labouring to find her rhythm on the court is not a massive surprise but what’s concerning is that she has toiled against lower-ranked opponents. She went down against a World No 30 opponent in Sudirman Cup recently, a World No 36 player in the Swiss Open, and a World No 89 opponent in Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship in Dubai.
There are multiple factors behind this lean period of course. Parting with Park Tae-sang, a coach who had helped her secure a bronze medal in Tokyo Olympics; still in the recovery phase after injury; rivals finding a new gear ahead of the crucial Olympic qualification phase are some of the obvious reasons. “She was forced to take a break after Commonwealth Games last year and she had a change in coach as well and these things matter a lot,” Mohammed Siyadath Ullah, an experienced coach who’s part of the national team, noted.
Finding foreign coach a real challenge
The challenge for BAI now is to find a new coach who can revitalise Sindhu. Given that most of the renowned coaches are already booked makes BAI’s job harder. “Sindhu is a high-level player and it’s vital for her to be comfortable with the coach. We have to search for a coach who’s on the same page with her, someone who could get her to full potential. But the issue right now is all the best coaches in the world are already with other teams and have signed contracts until the Olympics,” Mishra said. Recurring injuries are another reason that has hindered Indians. Saina Nehwal, the most sought-after player once upon a time, has been pushed to the background mainly due to her injuries. Lakshya has participated in events despite niggles and other health concerns. Srikanth and Sindhu, as mentioned earlier, have had their share of bouts with injuries as well. Visiting the medical room on a frequent basis has meant they have missed out on quality training.
“We tell them, if they perform well, they can skip a tournament. Sometimes they don’t perform and they keep on playing continuously. At this crucial moment, all the players obviously want to participate in the Olympics. It will be tough for us to decide which tournaments to pick. If the players are fit, then it is good for us. The chances of injuries are so high as they don’t get enough time for training,” Siyadath Ullah, who has been with the national team for many years, explained. The players (coaches guiding them) are now caught between the devil and the deep sea as every tournament on tour is key to gaining points for Olympic qualification. If they don’t recover well after a draining event, that could make them error-prone in the following events.
“Obviously there is a lot of competition now, especially in men’s singles. If one doesn’t recover 100 per cent and doesn’t train 100 per cent, one shouldn’t be entering the circuit. What happens is sometimes players just want to go and play the tournaments even when they’re just at 50 per cent. If you’re not 100 per cent, you’re bound to make a lot of mistakes and players are not aware of how much they can push themselves.”
All the players, including rivals from other nations, will be wary of that ahead of busy days ahead. The Indians’ immediate challenge will be the Malaysia Masters Super 500 event and they’ll be intent on finding the balance between play and recovery. The singles players must pull up their socks. They have been slipping in the ranking list. Without performing well, they might slip out of the comfort zone of qualifying for the Olympics.
