Defining year for Indian shuttlers

Top coaches Vimal & Trupti exclusively talk to NT on what’s ahead in a packed 2022 season.

Kalyan Ashok | NT

Bengaluru: Badminton emerged as a major sport in the country ever since the legendary Prakash Padukone became a world-beater in the early 1980s and then came a string of Indian stars like Pullela Gopichand and Saina Nehwal who made an impressive showing on the world stage with Gopichand in 2001, emulating Padukone’s All England triumph and Saina winning a maiden bronze medal in London Olympics in 2012.

It was P.V.Sindhu, who gave a boost to India winning back-to-back Olympic medals in 2016 and 2021. She also won the World Championship title in 2019. In the men’s singles, Srikant ended the year on a high note with silver in the world championship while Lakshya Sen won a bronze.

Lakshya began the 2022 season on a stunning note beating the current World champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the Indian Open final on January 16.

What’s the outlook for Indian shuttlers in 2022? The former national champion and former national coach U.Vimal Kumar, who is the Director of Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru; and Trupti Murgunde, former national women’s champion, and coach shared their views on the prospects for Indian players in 2022. Major ones in the year are Commonwealth, Asian Games, and the All England besides the world championships.

Trupti looking back at 2021 termed as a mixed bag. With pandemic curbs, many tournaments got canceled and players were under mental stress with restricted practice and exposure.

Vimal felt that the cancellation of a few qualifying events in 2021 affected the chances of Srikanth and Lakshya Sen from competing in the Olympics. “They, however, did win silver and bronze respectively in World Championship,” said Vimal Kumar.

The two coaches complimented Sindhu for her exemplary showing in winning back-toback Olympic medals. “It was an extraordinary feat and inspiration for all players,” said Trupti.

Srikanth’s return to form has been encouraging felt the coaches. “The last time he did well was in 2017 when he won four Super Series. But lost that winning touch for a few years, good to see him back on track. He is such a talented player,” said Trupti.

Vimal opined that lack of confidence and change in the game affected Srikanth in the past three years. “He is a naturally attacking player who used to dominate at the net but became defensive when he started losing, that was his mistake. I hope he has now got back his confidence and playing to his potential,” said Vimal.

The current season augurs well for the Indian players. Lakshay Sen provided a great start by winning India Open title beating World champion Loh Kean Yew in the final while Satwik and Chirag won the men’s doubles title. Sindhu, however, lost in the women’s singles. Unfortunately, both Srikanth and Sai Praneeth who tested +ve for Covid were sidelined from the tournament.

“I wish the players keep their focus, work harder as we have Commonwealth Games and Asian Games this year and we also hope to open up the domestic circuit for our juniors who did not have many events last year,” said Trupti.

Vimal Kumar rates India’s chance of winning the Thomas Cup for the men’s team in June. “We have a strong set of singles players like Srikanth, Sai Praneeth, Prannoy and Samir Verma and Lakshya besides a good doubles duo in Satwik & Chirag.

We can take any opposition including Japan, Indonesia, and Denmark. China is not as formidable as it was in the past. When playing for the country, our players should give 100 percent and not worry about individual points”, concluded Vimal Kumar on a positive note.