‘Years of hard work’ pays off as India revels in badminton glory

‘Years of hard work’ pays off as India revels in badminton glory

‘Years of hard work’ pays off as India revels in badminton glory
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With their first Thomas Cup victory in Bangkok last week, India’s badminton squad reached new heights, even putting cricket in the shade, leaving former players optimistic that the sport may “grow on this achievement.”

The men’s team defeated badminton’s equivalent of tennis’ Davis Cup, beating Malaysia, Denmark, and then 14-time winners Indonesia.

Vimal Kumar, the team’s manager, praised the triumph as the “greatest achievement” for a country whose only previous top men’s tournament victories were for Prakash Padukone in 1980 and Pullela Gopichand in 2001.

“From 2017 when there were three good singles players in Sai Praneeth, (Kidambi) Srikanth and (HS) Prannoy, I had faith in them,” Kumar told AFP.

“But as a team, they couldn’t play together for various reasons.

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“This win comes after years of hard work.”

Lakshya Sen, the next bright youngster to emerge, made headlines when he reached the prestigious All England Open Championship final in March, losing to Viktor Axelsen, the Danish world number two and Olympic champion.

Sen, along with senior singles players Srikanth and Prannoy and the doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, was a major player in India’s 3-0 Thomas Cup final victory over Indonesia.

Kumar stated that India must now build on the team’s achievements and establish the groundwork for future success.

“They need to look at how they can market the sport better. Maybe get a team sponsor.

 

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‘Galvanised the whole nation’

“And with the money (that comes in) they can get grassroots development for the next line of players.”

The team’s exploits in Bangkok captivated sports fans across the cricket-crazed country.

“For three days, all of India was looking at badminton. I think that is their achievement, more than winning the Thomas Cup they gave Indians so much joy,” journalist G Rajaraman told AFP.

Women’s singles stars like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu have brought Indian badminton to the forefront in recent years by winning Olympic medals, although the sport still ranks third in popularity behind cricket and hockey.

“Badminton is one of our better sports in terms of results, achieved from Prakash (Padukone’s) time going down to Gopi (Pullela Gopichand) and more recently through the women,” said Rajaraman.

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“But to see them come together as a team, it galvanized the whole nation.”

Gopichand, who is now 48 years old, has been credited with being the architect of India’s current badminton success after mentoring Sindhu, Saina, and Srikanth, who briefly held the world number one position in April 2018.

“It’s a phenomenal success,” Gopichand was quoted as saying by the Indian media.

“What our boys achieved is simply incredible. It was my dream. I am confident that we can build on this success.”

The Gopichand academy, a state-of-the-art badminton facility in Hyderabad, India, has become synonymous with achievement.

“Nearly every player would have played with Gopi or his academy at some point of time,” said Rajaraman.

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“I think that kind of selfless approach of his, where he has got in foreign coaches even in his own academy has helped India become a better badminton nation.”

 

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