Another Saina-Chinese duel is on the cards

After participating in three World Championships, I believe that this tournament features the best badminton I have seen. I can’t say for sure as to why this is so, but I shall go with the most common reason – it’s the World Championship – a platform to identify the best player in the world.

The magical Wembley Arena in London shall host the forthcoming World Badminton Championships from 8–14 August 2011. Wembley is like the equivalent of Wimbledon in tennis and it shall be a dream come true for most badminton players to play at the 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena, the spiritual home of badminton. Wembley last hosted a tournament — the prestigious All England Championships — in 1993. This venue has been reopened due to the forthcoming Olympic Games in London next year.

Apart from the arena adding wealth to the tournament, the fact that it’s where the World Champions will be crowned is of prime importance. However, it is also the first time in history that the world meet and the Olympics will be held in the same city – and the same stadium – in consecutive years.

Therefore, all the best players in the world are expected to put their best foot forward in the hope that they would garner enough points to qualify and earn a good seeding at the Games. After all, this tournament has the largest number of ranking points at stake in this Olympic qualifying period.

The World Championships were first held in 1977 and originally scheduled for every two years. However, since 2003, the championships have been held every year except the Olympic years. Which basically means the title holders of the World Championships 2011 will get to retain their crown until the next edition in 2013 as 2012 is an Olympic year.

Though one would hope that going into the tournament, the story would be different, unfortunately it is not so. This time too, the red signals danger. It could very well be a foregone conclusion that the red army – China – shall make a clean sweep at these World Championships too, replicating their feat of 2010. We have several reasons to believe so.

China is the most successful nation in the history of the World Championships with 49 titles — out of a total 90 — since the inaugural event in 1977. In the previous Championships in 2010, China stormed into all five finals i.e. men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles and the mixed doubles. Three  of these finals were an all-China affair. With all five titles in the bag from last time and in spite of looking vulnerable in the men’s doubles and mixed doubles events where they have enjoyed the least success - comparatively that is — China will come into the event head held high and confidence soaring.

Through statistics, China looks as strong as ever. However, this event with its high stakes, throws up curveballs every now and then. It is predicted that this time, there is going to be no Chinese clean sweep. Any badminton fan would hope to see the Chinese pitted against another country. China playing China is a most clichéd and uneventful saga.

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No wonder, the World Championships 1999 at Copenhagen, Denmark stand out in my memory. In the women’s singles, Camilla Martin of Denmark steered clear with the title – in spite of having six top-class Chinese players in the draw. She scalped a Chinese each in the quarters, semis and finals – a highly commendable feat. Like in the sport of cycling where the team cycles in pelatons, here too, the Chinese hunt in packs and collectively look to break a player down mentally and physically.

If you beat one, the other one is waiting to hunt you down. However, with Camilla, the plan did not quite work. We could assume playing at home was advantageous, but under any circumstances this was some of the highest quality badminton that I have witnessed. After all, in the women’s singles, the Chinese record is brilliant, winning 14 out of the 18 titles since 1977 and this was the last time a non-Chinese won the event.

Well, this time around, India boasts of the biggest threat to the Chinese in women’s singles – a nemesis called Saina Nehwal. Saina will look to emulate the feat of Camilla Martin. With the seeds number 1 through 4 from China, they certainly have the advantage – a rich lineage.

Yet, not the one to get scared with statistics and reputations, sixth seed Saina has repeatedly announced that she does not think the Chinese are infallible. And rightly so, as she has beaten them on numerous occasions. It is believed that Saina’s preparation for the event has been good and she is stroking the shuttle sharply. The rest, of course, depends on how she manages to perform on the given day.

I feel her biggest challenge will be the fact that to get to the title, she will have to break through three Chinese opponents from the quarter-finals onwards. This is one of the toughest tests a player can face. Saina will have to be sure that she recovers well from each match. Even the slight onset of fatigue will be preyed upon.

In men’s singles Lee Chong Wei, the world’s number one men’s singles player shall be looking at this title with keen earnest. With four Super Series to his credit this year, he looks to carry his luck through and bring Malaysia their first-ever World Championship title. According to me, he is the only real threat to the Chinese, especially arch rival Lin Dan.

The rivalry between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan is well known and their contests make for spectacular badminton. No wonder, fans are looking forward to the two stalwarts setting up the summit clash. But last time, the event threw up a surprise winner – another Chinese Chen Jin. So, this time too, we might see an unlikely champion. After all, it’s the World Championships, and the results are unscripted.

These World Championships are deemed to be a high-end dress rehearsal for the London Olympics. The participants of this event will seek the title and look to gather some confidence for the Olympic showdown next year. In that sense, I believe that this tournament is going to be as important as any other World Championship and much more. The level of badminton displayed will be of very high quality and dazzle all the spectators alike.