Consistency is a word used often in the field of sports. When an athlete wins top laurels, he/she is expected to repeat the feat. But it’s not easy. Actually, this is tougher than winning something for the first time. Expectations rise, opponents get used to your game and the factors change in general.
And these athletes are no machines. Even the most gifted of the era have had times when things just wouldn’t fall in place. Somehow, every time they fall, they dust themselves off and rise like a phoenix. And that is why they are called greats or legends.
Whether or not Indian badminton has achieved greatness is arguable. Some would say they are on the brink of it. In reality, they are somewhere in between. And even if this year does not define the sport in the country, the next few years will. Players exceeded expectations in 2017, as a number of them excelled at the top level. In that sense, their test begins now, to show that it was no one-year wonder.
suvajit dey
Indian players have not had the best of starts this year. Saina Nehwal’s final appearance at the Indonesia Masters apart, they have got off to low-key starts. Even home conditions at the India Open did not bring the best out of them. But B Sai Praneeth, who won the Singapore Open Superseries last year, feels it is too soon to write them off. “We are training hard. Everybody is playing well. It’s not easy to win every match. This year is only starting and there is a long way to go. We will get good results,” he said.
“Last year, India won many titles, especially in singles. And I believe there is nothing to change in the way we train. It’s only a matter of time before the results are back. Sometimes, when you lose, confidence goes down. But there is time and we will give our best,” added the World No 18. Kidambi Srikanth (5) and HS Prannoy (11) are the other Indians in the top 20.When you perform at a certain level, you will be noticed. Rivals won’t sit back and let someone win. Using technology like video analysis, they search for weaknesses so that they can target them the next time they face the player. Some of them train for hours perfecting just one technique. Such is the level of competition and badminton is no different.
“It’s only been three tournaments and we haven’t played in Malaysia. But there were three boys in the quarterfinals and that’s a good sign. It’s not easy to win because each round is tough and the standard is very high. We are doing well and there is definitely scope for more medals. There is a long way to go in the season,” said PV Sindhu.While losing affects rankings, it also takes a toll on confidence. To deal with criticism is not easy. But top athletes fight, learn from mistakes and come back stronger. Sometimes, they have to think out of the box and get out of the comfort zone. “We have to analyse what went wrong individually and keep working on it. There are new strokes that we can learn. We need to surprise our opponents every time we go on court. Losing can be mentally draining. You start doubting yourself. The best thing you can do is to stop thinking about it. Because the more you think, the worse you will feel,” felt Prannoy.
After reaching a certain level, top athletes hire personal coaches who travel with them and be with them during tournaments. After a point, everything changes in the way you train, the diet that you follow, the need to maintain fitness. There are players with personal physios, who know their injury history and can take better care of them. What India has achieved in terms of setting up this system is good. Without that, there won’t be a Saina or Sindhu. But is that enough? “We need better infrastructure and a more systematic approach. We need more coaches so that individual attention can be given to players. We don’t have coaches. I have been saying this for 10 years and nobody has heard me,” said chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.
Injuries have taken a toll on Indians this year. Srikanth and Prannoy are among those affected. This is where the depth of field will be tested. Can fringe players step up and shoulder the responsibilities when big guns are missing? With the Commonwealth and Asian Games, Asian team championships coming up, these are testing times for Gopichand’s wards. “If we take a look at badminton overall, the numbers have been really good. But we will have to wait and see if they will turn out to be a Srikanth or Prannoy. The next generation is definitely exciting,” Gopichand added.Fortunes of Indian badminton can change like how fast the shuttle moves. Swish and it can fall in or outside the court. But like many of the players pointed out, it is only the beginning. With a cramped schedule ahead, things will only get tougher. And only time can tell how it is going to be at the end of the year.
1 Just one Indian pair in the top 25 in men’s, women’s and mixed doubles. Pranav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy are 24th in mixed doubles.
Academy of excellence
Most of India’s badminton success is based in Hyderabad, at Pullela Gopichand’s academy. Starting from scratch to producing world class talent, this academy has surpassed expectations by a distance.
Nothing after that
The Hyderabad set-up apart, India has no other centre that comes close to it. Experts have stressed on the need of creating a system now instead of depending solely on one centre of excellence.
Foreign coaches
Gopichand has often said India doesn’t have good coaches. The federation reacted and roped in top names to train singles as well as doubles players. It’s important that this practice continues and top coaches keep coming to India.
The pioneer Saina Nehwal
Undoubtedly the inspiration for the generation that followed, she has been in the top 10 or thereabouts for close to a decade now. Some say she is past her prime, but at 27 and post surgeries, Saina is good enough to win World Championship medals and give younger players a run for their money.
The flag-bearerPV Sindhu
If India needed a few players to follow in Saina’s footsteps, up strode another one from Hyderabad. At 22 and with more big-event medals in her kitty already than what Saina has achieved, here is a world championship contender. Yes she has lost a few finals, but there is
no denying that she is India’s biggest hope.
Emerging force Kidambi Srikanth
You don’t win four Superseries titles in a year if you are not top-level material. But for Srikanth it is crucial to get into the medal bracket in top events. For, that is important in the assessment of players. Sure he has the game for it and it’s perhaps a matter of time before he gets there.
Able lieutenants
HS Prannoy and B Sai Praneeth
In these two, India have found players who have proven that the existing system is good enough to produce in numbers. No world beaters yet, but very much the giant-killers, it has to be seen how they handle the transition.