Gut punch: All you need to know about India's campaign at World Championships
August 15. SAI-Gopichand Academy, Hyderabad. The last practice session before Indian shuttlers fly off to Basel (Switzerland) for World Championships. One versus three. This isn’t a scenario that you often see in an individual sport. But that is just what Kidambi Srikanth needs. National men’s singles coach Park Tae-sang feels that his defence needs to be tightened up.
With three players shooting off all kinds of strokes towards the star player, it is a treat to watch the 26-year-old deposit the shuttle over to the other side of the net more times than not. No matter how effective Srikanth looks at the moment, results have been ordinary for him this season, just like the season before. The gulf between years looks more pronounced for the Guntur shuttler. A landmark 2017 — when he bagged four Superseries titles — seems like it happened more than two years ago. Injuries and indifferent form have plagued Srikanth’s progress.
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Srikanth is not the only one who’s struggling. Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu haven’t raised the bar either. Last year, each time the Indian contingent flew to any corner of the world for a big event, fans were sure that at least one medal would come back with them.But 2019 has been different. Going by their track record, none of the singles stars may stick their neck out and say that they will have one in their pockets when they return.
Saina is the only Indian to clinch a big tournament (Indonesia Masters in January) this year. Though the sports pages of Indian dailies have been singing paeans for the recent doubles achievement of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (who will miss the Worlds due to injuries), no other singles player has won a big title in 2019. Sindhu has made the final only once in ten attempts.
“The picture is obviously not as rosy as it was in the years before. Saina does not have the required match practice going into a big tournament like this. Srikanth is really low on confidence. The only hope is Sindhu, but it will be tough for her as well,” was how veteran coach U Vimal Kumar summed up India’s current chances.
Tae-sang has an explanation for the shuttlers’ struggles. “The game has become quite different in the last few seasons. Players have substantially reduced air time given to the shuttle. However, I feel that Indians have not really been able to adapt to these changes. “When I started my stint in February, I realised that they had a good overall game, but they were giving too much air time to the shuttle. That has not worked in their favour. That is what I have been trying to change.”
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Sindhu is done with her training, and goes for a 20-minute stretching session. Unlike Srikanth, and Saina — training on the same floor with husband Parupalli Kashyap — she had been exuding confidence during her practice, going about with it in a jovial manner. “I have prepared well. I got ample time to train for it since I skipped Thailand Open. I am really hopeful of changing the colour of my medal this time,” says the two-time World Championship silver-winner.
Kim Ji Hyun, Sindhu’s coach, had revealed before that she had brought in some changes to her warm-up and cool-down routines. In recent months, Sindhu has shown glimpses of her best, especially when she made the final of Indonesia Open (one of the three BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournaments). “Those changes have been working in my favour. I have been paying equal attention to on-court and off-court training. As time progresses, it will definitely get better,” observes Sindhu, who is likely to run into Tai Tzu-ying in the quarterfinal of the Worlds.
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Tai isn’t the shuttler Sindhu should be wary of. This season has belonged to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. The diminutive shuttler has snatched away the top rank that had been in the possession of Tai for a long time. Gone are those days when the Chinese Taipei player was an unstoppable force, as she has been overpowered by many a shuttler in this season. “Yamaguchi will be the player to beat,” obseves Vimal. “Sindhu may benefit from the fact that the Japanese might have peaked quite early in the season. It will be very difficult for her to maintain the same level of game in consecutive tournaments.” Saina and Sindhu could face each other in the semis if they get past the initial rounds.
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The courts at Gopichand’s academy are now empty. The big room is almost dark. Coaches and physios have left, and so have all players except for one. Saina is working on her net-play, getting all the help she can from Kashyap. Injuries have troubled her this season, but she’s fit at the right time, for the big tournament. However, expectations of a medal from the 29-year-old are ostensibly in the realm of improbable.
Other singles hopefuls such as HS Prannoy and Sameer Verma could have been expected to conjure up surprises, but their form too has been largely off the rails. B Sai Praneeth’s good results in the last few months may spark some hope, and so will the fact that big fish like Viktor Axelsen, Shi Yuqi and Son Wan ho — all of whom have always troubled Indians — are skipping the Worlds due to injuries. But, choppy waters still await India, in the form of unstoppable players like World No 1 Kento Momota (defending champion) and Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen.
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The one factor that may work in Srikanth’s favour is his relatively comfortable draw. “If he can regain his confidence and play to his potential, he can beat any player in the world,” acknowledges Vimal.
“They all are in a transition phase. New coaches came in only a few months ago. It will take some time to adjust to the new routine. Other than that, the Chinese have started to make a comeback into world badminton. Many Chinese Taipei shuttlers are also playing really well. So, it’s an open field.”
World affairs
With the BWF World Championships beginning on Monday, here’s a look at a few talking points from an Indian perspective...
Indians in fray (Draw)
Men’s singles
HS Prannoy vs Eetu Heino (Finland)
B Sai Praneeth (16) vs Jason Anthony Jo-Shue (Canada)
Kidambi Srikanth (7) vs Nhat Nguyen (Ireland)
Sameer Verma (10) vs Loh Kean Yew (Singapore)
Women’s singles
Both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu have been handed first-round byes
Men’s doubles
Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy vs Thom Gicquel/Ronan Labar (France)
MR Arjun/Shlok Ramachandran vs Tobias Kuenzi/Oliver Schaller (Switzerland)
Arun George/Sanyam
Shukla vs Takuto Inoue/Yuki Kaneki (Japan)
Women’s doubles
Meghana Jakkampudi/S Ram Poorvisha vs Diana Corleto Soto/Nikte Alejandra Sotomayor (Guatemala)
Ashwini Ponnappa/N Sikki Reddy vs Chang Ching Hui/Yang Ching Tun (Chinese Taipei)
Pooja Dandu/Sanjana Santosh vs Hsu Ya Ching/Hu Ling Fang (Chinese Taipei)
Mixed doubles No pairs
What’s eating Srikanth
2017 sure feels a long way ago for the World No 10, who has struggled this year. He has picked up 16 wins across 10 tournaments this year, numbers that might add gloss to a middling player. But the 26-year-old isn’t that, he has shown previously that he has the game to be one among the best. The draw is kind enough, will he be able to take advantage of it?
Will women continue to make India proud?
At least one Indian woman has been on the podium since 2011. It’s a record to be proud of but both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu will have to play out of their skin to preserve it. Considering the women’s doubles and the mixed doubles pairs lack the firepower and need multiple upsets to even get into the title rounds, the two Olympic medallists are India’s best bets once again.
Keep an eye out for...
Japan’s awesome twosome
No one country has dominated the sport like Japan’s leading aces in 2019. Between Kento Momota (two) and Akane Yamaguchi (two), they have won four of the eight titles in the Super 750 and Super 1000 Tours this year. With the women’s doubles pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota also amongst the medals, they could well dominate.
Notable absentees
Double trouble
After cornering glory at the Thailand Open, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won’t be part of the marquee event. Both are nursing injuries. This effectively rules out Satwik from taking part in the mixed doubles event alongside seasoned Ashwini Ponnappa. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddly will also miss out. It goes without saying this is a mighty blow for India as none of the participating pairs are expected to mount a challenge.
Injury worries
Carolina Marin and Viktor Axelsen will miss out as they are yet to recover from long-term injuries. The former is still recovering from a knee injury she sustained at the Indonesia Masters in January while the latter has a back injury.
ONE WOMAN SHOW
Only one women’s singles player not named Carolina Marin has won the Worlds in the last four years (Nozomi Okuhara).
TAI LOOKING TO BREAK JINX
World No 2 Tai Tzu Ying, who has picked up eight gold on the BWF World Tour since 2018, is yet to win a medal at the event. Her best is a quarterfinal appearance (four times).