CHENNAI: One of the top players from Denmark, Anders Antonsen, had skipped the last three editions of the India Open because of pollution. The World No 4, however, is set to be back in New Delhi for the highly-awaited BWF World championships, which is scheduled to be held from August 17 to 23. Another Danish players Mia Blichfeldt had complained about bird droppings and unhygienic conditions inside the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in January this year, but she'll also be back with high aspirations. This is a reflection on the importance of the World Championships.
Yes, it is monsoon and pollution is much better than winters and of course, the organisers have said that the stadium has undergone a massive overhaul, yet it's the significance of the competition that has drawn all marquee names to the India Capital. It was evident during the official draw ceremony, which was conducted on Wednesday.
Most top shuttlers will have relatively easy outing in the first round, with expectation of high-profile showdowns in the subsequent rounds. But Ayush Shetty of India did not have such novelty.
On the opening day itself, the home fans will get an opportunity to witness a potential banger. India's rising shuttler Shetty will lock horns against World No 1 and defending champion Shi Yu Qi from China. This match-up was finalised during the draw. With most of the Indians, barring Ayush, getting a decent draw, a decent show is not out of the realm. However, with the spotlight largely on them, there's also bound to be high pressure on the home shuttlers.
After the conclusion of the draw ceremony, Ayush, who's ranked World No 23, was undoubtedly the main talking point. During his Asian Championships campaign, Shi had denied Ayush the title with a dominant display in the final. What makes it even harder for him is the fact that he has struggled to find his rhythm since then. However, Shi also has been far from his best and the Round of 64 meeting between the two could be a thrilling affair.
"I think it looks like a good draw from an Indian perspective. One of the big first rounds will be Shi vs Ayush. I do believe that Ayush is very good and given his attacking side of the game, a first round (meeting) against Shi is better than playing late in the draw. From that perspective, if he wins that, it opens up the draw," India's national chief coach Pullela Gopichand, who was present during the ceremony, said.
U Vimal Kumar, who oversees Ayush and Lakshya Sen's training at the Centre for Badminton Excellence (CBE), is hopeful that the former can take inspiration from Loh Kean Yew, who had pulled off an epic run as an unseeded player in the 2021 edition in Huelva, Spain. Loh had beaten No 2 seed Viktor Axelsen, regarded to be near-invincible then, in the opening round before going on to capture the title. "It's the nature of the sport. I remember Loh's performance in Spain. He was playing well, he got Viktor Axelsen (top seed) in Round 1, he beat him and went on to overcome Srikanth (Kidambi) in the final."
PV Sindhu, meanwhile, has winnable early rounds. If Sindhu, who's chasing a record sixth medal, can keep up her good run and avoid an upset, she could potentially run into China's Wang Zhi Yi, a rival she had beaten in the last edition of the championships, in the women's singles Round of 16.
Lakshya Sen's path is also highly identical. Like Sindhu, Lakshya has easy opening two rounds on paper. It's the Round of 16 where Lakshya could face a big challenge as he could potentially cross paths with No 2 seed Kunlavit Vitidsarn of Thailand.
Satwik-Chirag back
Likewise, doubles specialists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who will be making a return after injury issues for the former, have avoided familiar rivals at least until the quarterfinal stage. Coming back after a break is never easy, but India doubles coach Tan Kim Her, who was present during the ceremony, said they're ready. "He has recovered 100 per cent. He's (Satwik) ready," Tan declared. It needs to be seen if lack of match practice could have a bearing in their game.
Mixed doubles pairing of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crastro could also face their real test from the Round of 16 stage. The women's doubles combination of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have had a rough season so far. Despite slipping down the rankings, the duo — entering the event after finding some joy at the Philippine International Challenge — was drawn against Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez of Spain in Round 1.
The importance of the event cannot be understated. The top-tier Grade 1 event returned to India after a gap of 17 years. The country had last hosted the event at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad in 2009. Gopichand is naturally stoked to have the event back. "It's wonderful to have the World Championships back in India. We were an emerging nation. It was one of those first big events being hosted in India. Back in the day, the sport was not such a big thing. Today we're looking at a new India which has an aspiration of hosting some big world sporting events, badminton being one of them. I'm very happy to see the Worlds back. We're definitely going to have it much grander," he said.
Saina Nehwal and mixed doubles combination of Jwala Gutta and V Diju had narrowly missed out on medals then. Over the years, the Indians have made a habit of regularly challenging for a podium finish. In fact, Indian shuttlers have not missed out on a medal since the 2011 edition.
"The one big difference (past edition in India and now) is the emergence of multiple players. If we had this ceremony back then (2009), we wouldn't have much to talk about in terms of players. Today, we have multiple players in multiple events and we aspire to be on the podium in the few of them at least. So I'm very hopeful it's going to get better," Gopichand said.