Indian Badminton Needs Numerical Strength And Quality

India needs numerical strength and quality in badminton to break the hegemony of the European and Asian countries. The results in the World Championship have to be put down as very disappointing, with the sole consolation being the refreshing display by the women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Teressa Jolly. The Thomas Cup win in 2022 ought to have triggered significant enthusiasm and interest, leading to exponential growth. India has never been a force in the Uber Cup, which China has won 16 times. Clearly, the current system has not been working well to produce champions consistently. Prakash Padukone, Pullela Gopichand, Saina Nehwal, and P V Sindhu beat all odds and covered themselves with glory, winning the All England Openn Badminton Championships, World, and Olympic medals. A vibrant ecosystem needs to be created to get the best out of singles players like Lakshya Sen and Ayush Shetty, the doubles pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and budding women’s talents like Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, and a handful more in the top-50. The Nagoya-Aichi Asian Games in September-October will be far from a cakewalk for the Indians; China, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia will be in full force. Former India player and coach Uday Pawar would like to see three or four more National Centres of Excellence set up across the country. He believes the NCOE in Assam has shown glimpses of developing bright talent. The LA 28 is less than two years away, and those in the top 30 or thereabouts should get the best. Sen had a great chance to topple the top seed in Paris in 2024 and in the bronze medal playoff; he will be keen and eager to make amends at LA28.