Top 7 moments in history of Indian Badminton


Top 7 moments in history of Indian Badminton

Badminton in India has grown leaps and bounds in the past two decades. Over the years we have seen some great feats achieved in the international circuit. Let us walk through the top 7 moments in history of Indian Badminton.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prakash Padukone All England Championships win and World number 1

The Arjuna and Padma Shri awardee is the first Indian to win the most prestigious tournament in badminton: The All England Open Championships. Back in 1980 badminton was not an Olympic sport yet and the All England was the most prestigious tournament. It still holds a lot of reverence along with Olympic and World championships. Prakash Padukone stormed into the All England Open in great form having won the Denmark and Swedish open right before arriving in London.

It was March 23, 1980 when Padukone won the title, beating second seeded Indonesian Swie King Liem in straight sets 15–3, 15–10. The Indonesian was the World number 1 and defending champion on his way to a hat trick of the title. On his way to the final, the Indian legend beat the Danish top seed Morten Frost in the semi final.

The title catapulted him to reach the top of the world ranking table.

ADVERTISEMENT

Interesting fact, In 1981, it Swie King Liem avenged his loss in 1980, beating Prakash Padukone 11–15, 15–4, 15–6 in the finals.

What the legend has achieved in the days back then when there were so little support or awareness for badminton is just absolutely phenomenal. His journey to the top is inspiring. He is a person aspiring players look up to for guidance and mentoring.

Also Read: Badminton | Olympic Champion Carolina Marin returns to training after 2 months

Pullela Gopichand’s All England glory, 2001

Gopichand’s glory at the All England Championships in 2001 is one of the notable moments in the history of Indian Badminton. He was the second Indian to win the title, 21 years after it was first won by Prakash Padukone. The breezy victory against Chen Hong in the final 15–12, 15–6 at Birmingham led him to lift the trophy. In his way to the finals, he defeated the legendary Peter Gade in the semi finals.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pullela Gopichand struggled with injuries for a considerable part of his career and retired in 2004. With the prizes he earned for his achievements and resources of his own, The Padma Shri awardee set up his own academy.

Athletes faced lack of adequate support and facilities back then. Gopichand took it up on him to nurture best talents and provide them with state-of- the- art facilities and put India on the world map of badminton has been successful. His wards have made him and the nation proud and the achievements have been magnificent.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa’s World Championship bronze, 2011

It was a historic medal that ended India’s 28-year wait for a medal at World championships. Indian badminton had been dominated by singles players in the international circuit. This achievement of doubles pair was nothing short of extraordinary.

This pair was the flag bearers of women’s doubles back in those days. Their effort to lift up doubles in India is truly commendable. The 2011 world championships have been one of their finest performances. The pair defeated 12th seeds Vita Marrisa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia 17–21, 21–10, 21–17 to storm into the women’s doubles semi-final.

ADVERTISEMENT

They lost to the Chinese fifth seeds Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in the semi-finals in London. The pair won a Commonwealth silver in 2014, Glasgow and also competed in Rio Olympics 2016.

Saina Nehwal’s Olympic bronze, 2012

India’s Saina Nehwal kisses her bronze medal at the women’s singles badminton victory ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Wembley Arena August 4, 2012. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad

It was in 2009 that Saina Nehwal scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament with a spectacular victory against third seed Wang Lin at the finals of the Indonesia Open. The nineteen year old girl fought her way with grit and won the finals in 50 minutes 12-21, 21-18, 21-9.  This win was her first great achievement and a breakthrough into international badminton. This no doubt is a highlight and has shaped up her illustrious career. However it was her Olympic bronze that brought her to the fore in the country at large.

Saina had been an Olympian as an 18 year old at Beijing Olympics 2008, and was the first woman to reach the quarterfinals of Olympics in badminton. Four years later In London, she assured herself of a bronze medal after Wang Xin retired hurt mid way through the game in the bronze medal match. She lost to her arch rival Wang Yihan in the semi final with whom she has a negative head to head record.

On April 2, 2015 Nehwal become the world number one and became the first Indian woman to do so.  The title at India Open in 2015, beating Ratchanok Intanon put her name on top of the table. That is yet another highlight of her successful career.

ADVERTISEMENT

Also Read: A look at Kento Momota’s amazing run in 2019

PV Sindhu’s Rio Olympic Silver,  2016

PV Sindhu is the golden girl of Indian badminton. Her feats in the international circuit are commendable. The world championship gold in 2019 is one of her greatest achievements. Having won two silvers and two bronzes at the World Championships earlier, she was a strong contender in Basel and expected to win the gold. She went to Basel with a resolve to win the title.

But, Going into Rio in 2016,Sindhu was an underdog. She had no major Super Series titles prior to it except for her world championship bronze in 2013 and 2014. However she was consistently playing in the circuit, won couple of Grand Prix and Grand Prix Golds, maintaining a steady top 25 ranking. Her performance in Rio was a career defining moment, when millions of Indians watched her fight her heart out against the Spaniard Carolina Marin who took away the Olympic Gold.

Her performance post Rio has been excellent and she became a top player in the circuit. The circumstance under which she won the silver is special. Her demeanor on court that day and her unbreakable spirit with which she fought is truly admirable. She also won millions of hearts that very day.

ADVERTISEMENT

The rise of Kidambi Srikanth to Number One, 2018

Kidambi Srikanth

The lanky Indian became the numero uno on 12 April 2018. Earlier, he had created waves in the international circuit by winning the China Open Super Series 2014, upsetting the home favourite LinDan. Srikanth beat the 5 time world champion in straight sets 21–19 21–17,and became the first Indian to win a Super Series Premier men’s title.

Kidambi Srikanth has had a period of absolute brilliant badminton and won a few Superseries titles in 2017. It catapulted him to a career high ranking of 2 that year. With consistent performance at the top, he reached the world number one status. The highlight of his career would be the rise to number one status on 12 April 2018. This is one of the best moments of his career and Indian Badminton. He is only the second Indian to be the number one in men’s singles after the legendary Prakash Padukone.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s Thailand Open 2019 Title

The teenage sensation duo has created ripples in the men’s doubles category. 2019 was a breakthrough season for them. The pair claimed their maiden Super 500 title at Thailand Open beating Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen.

Soon after, they reached the finals of the Super 750 French Open where they lost to the first seed Kevin Sanjaya Sukamoljo and Marcus Fernaldi Gideon. In the same tournament they beat the likes of world number 6 Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe of Japan and number 2 pairing of Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan.

ADVERTISEMENT

That was some extraordinary performance from the young pair. This is the first Indian men’s doubles pair to have been the top ten rankings. The appointment of Tan Kim her as doubles specialist has increased the standards of Indian Doubles. The pair credits coach for their improved game.