India's badminton glass is half full, not half empty

Yes, it is not a good time to say “keep your chin up’’ when the shoulders are drooping but to see the glass half empty would be a terrible mistake as far as Indian badminton is concerned. The two singles shuttlers— Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap— have done exceedingly well and Saina is still in with a chance to win a bronze medal for India. Kashyap made India proud with the kind of fight he put up against top seed Lee Chong Wei, losing in the quarters. For the world number 21 to reach the final eight is a laudable achievement. 2012, with or without the bronze, should be 2001 revisited. That was when Pullela Gopichand won the All England title and ushered in a badminton wave in Andhra Pradesh. In those days of nascent television, Gopi was taken on a tour of different districts of Andhra Pradesh, felicitated and Gopi, always an excellent motivational speaker, emphasised on the need to spot talent early and encourage it. Asked about the reaction to his victory in Birmingham, Gopi said, “I am not the most talented or greatest of players. So if I could do it on the big stage, a lot of other Indians felt they could do it as well.’’ [caption id=“attachment_404178” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Saina is still in with a chance to win a bronze medal for India. PTI[/caption] That one title motivated many a youngster to pick up the badminton racquet and dream of becoming another Gopi. Today all the talent that you see— the likes of Guru Sai Dutt, Prannoy, Sai Praneeth— are all offshoots of the seeds of inspiration planted by Gopi’s triumph. You have over 17,000 registered badminton players in the state, the highest in India. Gopi’s career as a player was marked by the trial and error method and poor infrastructure. The Gopichand Academy today is the result of Gopi’s own frustration with the kind of system that existed during his playing days and an attempt to ensure that gen-next did not have to face the same hurdles. It is a tribute to his zeal and determination that the academy today is recognised as one of the best in the world, a boon for the 150 players who train there. But now is the moment to power forward. The system has to be prepared for the burst of enthusiasm among eight and nine-year-old boys and girls who would want to be another Saina and Kashyap, having seen them in action in London. And if the system does not welcome them with open arms, the country stands to lose potential medal winners in the next decade. Remember, barring a Sindhu who will be a medal prospect at the Rio Olympics in 2016 on current form and potential, there is no one on the women’s singles horizon. There is no women’s doubles pair that can still challenge a Jwala-Ashwini in India and the country could not even send an entry in the men’s doubles category. Indian badminton will need to order some ‘Chinese’ now. It is very obvious China is miles ahead in terms of the way they train their badminton players. Woo some of the Chinese ex-players and coaches who have moved out of China to European or other Asian countries and get them to train our juniors and sub-juniors. That will leave Gopi free to focus on the top guns, while the new set of imported coaches can feed him a regular supply of talented youngsters. The Badminton Association of India has a blueprint of an Indian Badminton League (IBL) ready. The IBL will be on the lines of the IPL, to make the game more glamorous and attract more money to it. The timing is perfect, given the interest generated by Saina and Kashyap. The BAI also wants to make it compulsory for the top shuttlers to play in the National championship to give a chance to the second rung to rub shoulders with the likes of Saina and Jwala Gutta. And finally, the country, with help from the corporates will have to invest in many Gopichand Academy-like institutions. You need a professional set-up to prepare world-class badminton players who can stand up to competition from across the Great Wall of China. (T S Sudhir is the author of `Saina Nehwal : An Inspirational Biography’)