It was an extraordinary week for Indian badminton and it was fantastic to see two on the podium at the World Championship. Even though the scale of achievements and the number of medals won is unprecedented, this is not a surprise.
Having been there and done that, Saina and Sindhu have raised the bar further. In women’s doubles, Indians were already highly-rated, thanks to Jwala and Ashwini. Heartening has been the progress in other categories. With Kidambi Srikanth, who was a medal contender, India has four in the top 20 in men’s singles. Men’s and mixed doubles pairs have also started making their presence felt. It’s an all-round team in the making and we’ve seen that in results from events like Uber Cup and Asian Team Championship.
This can be attributed to a combination of factors.
A role model like Saina, rise in funds, foreign coaches, exposure to international events, planning and preparation all played their part. Pullela Gopichand has also played a massive role. Other than creating an environment that produces champions by bringing top-class coaching, monitoring system and fitness concepts under one roof, he has changed the mindset of our players. Forget qualifying for big events, they talk about winning Olympic medals these days. For players from a country that used to be in awe of the top guns, this is a significant change. Gopi has been instrumental in making them believe.
There have been complains about his methods. If we put ourselves in their shoes, we will find that players have a right to feel the way they do. There will be issues when so many individuals are involved. But then, these things are complex, which makes it difficult to say who’s right or wrong. If we look at it objectively and take performance as a benchmark, we have to give Gopi a big share of the credit. When he started as a coach, only he believed that producing world beaters is possible. Having seen him from his playing days, I know him as someone who is always open to learning and extremely hard working. We see these qualities in his wards.
It was a wise on part of federation to hire foreign coaches because it’s not possible to have everyone looked after by one. With funds becoming more accessible and our players getting better, these professionals are willing to come to India and the benefits of having someone like Mulyo Handoyo, who has coached former World No 1 Taufik Hidayat, are many. It’s a great opportunity for Indian members of the support staff to learn what a top coach does.
These things make the overall environment better. Now that this has begun, it has to become the system so that we don’t depend on individuals. This discussion would be incomplete without talking about our golden girls. Sindhu is naturally the toast of the nation. Looking at her medal haul from big events, it can be assumed that she is destined for more. She is obviously a great talent, who keeps delivering when it matters. Given that she is just 22, we can expect her to get better and that can be scary for her rivals, especially the Chinese.
For me, Saina’s bronze is equally commendable. We have to remember that she started taking on the world when she was 16 and she has been in the top 10 or thereabouts for close to nine years. It’s not easy to play at that level after knee surgery and with others getting better, she also faced the pressure of competition. But that’s Saina. She comes back when you think she might not and that’s the mark of a champion. There will be talk about the absence of worthy successors after her and Sindhu. For now, let’s celebrate their success and learn from them.