While Saina Nehwal gets the credit for revolutionising badminton in India, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is now the prodigy who followed in the footsteps of her illustrious contemporary with élan.
Nehwal became the face of Indian badminton by consistently beating the Chinese at their own game. Meanwhile, Sindhu’s inconsistency overshadowed her immense talent and potential. But even as the former clinched the No. 1 ranking along with the bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012, the latter was slowly turning into a world-beater herself.
Now, within a matter of four years, Sindhu has surpassed Nehwal’s Olympics feat, becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver with her astounding performance in Rio in August.
Battling painful injuries, Nehwal heartbreakingly lost to 61st-ranked Marija Ulitina in the group stage at Rio which set tongues wagging about the end of her era. Nehwal, however, is far from finished. Still, a hypothetical discussion about the result of a match between the India's two badminton Olympic medallists makes for an interesting premise.
For the purpose of such a discussion, let's consider a fully fit Nehwal, and take into account the two players' performances since 2015.
Nehwal has had a better run than Sindhu
Sindhu had an inconsistent start to 2015, as she got ousted in the initial rounds of the Super Series tournaments. She managed to reach the quarter-final of the World Championships and the final of the Denmark Super Series. Sindhu had more success in the Grand Prix events in 2015.
She reached the semi-finals of the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold and the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold tournaments. She clinched her third successive Macau Open Grand Prix Gold as well.
Her performances were not good enough to see her qualify for the Super Series Masters Finals though, where only eight players with the highest points in a particular calendar year participate. Sindhu finished the year ranked 12th in the world.
The 21-year-old had a relatively better start in 2016, reaching the quarter-final of the India Open and the Malaysian Super Series, along with a finish in the top eight in three Grand Prix Gold tournaments in Germany, Switzerland and China. Her victory in the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold gave her the confidence to go all out – and this contributed to her historical silver in Rio.
Compared to her younger compatriot, Nehwal had a rollicking start to 2015, where she reached the final of the World Championships, the prestigious All England Super Series and the China Open Super Series. A semi-final appearance in the Malaysian Open and quarter-final showings in the Asian Championships, Indonesian Super Series, Australian Super Series and the French Open Super Series made her a force to reckon with.
Nehwal clinched the Syed Modi Grand Prix and the Indian Open Super Series, which meant she finished the year ranked second, her highest year-end ranking in her career. In April, she attained the world No. 1 ranking.
Nehwal began 2016 on a promising note as well, reaching the semi-finals of three events along with a victory in the Australian Open Super Series in June. Unfortunately, an untimely injury led to an early ouster in Rio.
Experience matters, but so does killer instinct
Nehwal has been active on the international scene since 2004, and has maintained her top ten rank successfully since 2009. She has a 137-96 win-loss record against top-ranked players over the years, which includes some of the world’s best Chinese players, the Super Series finalists, the World Championships semi-finalists and the Olympic quarter-finalists.
Her ability to bring her most attacking game on court after she has been trailing in pressure situations can be attributed to her experience. Nehwal has 22 titles against her name and a majority of them, including the recent Australian Open title, were clinched after she had squandered the first game. Coming back into the match even when her opponent had seized the momentum demonstrates a calm mind and level-headedness, which is her greatest strength
Sindhu, on the other hand, seems to do better against top players. For instance, she has a commendable 2-3 record against the top-ranked Chinese player Li Xuerui. For perspective, Nehwal has a 2-12 record against her.
Overall, Sindhu has a 29-45 record against top-ranked players, including Wang Shixian and her Olympic final nemesis Carolina Marin. Sindhu has made 13 final appearances in her career to date, winning seven of them. However, she has often given in to the pressure in crunch moments, allowing her opponent to walk away with the game even when things seemed to be in her favour, a fact which was on full display during the final in Rio.
After taking the first game 21-19 against Marin, the 21-year-old failed to win crucial points as she went down fighting in the next two games. However, the fact that Sindhu did reach the finals after Nehwal had crashed out reflects her immense potential and calm demeanour.
Strengths and weaknesses
At 26, Nehwal is not getting any younger. While she loses out to Sindhu in terms of agility and quick feet, she makes up for it with her fighting spirit and her hunger to excel at the highest level.
Sindhu uses her height well and focuses on a number of shots to win points but she is at a disadvantage when the opponent hits aggressive body smashes down at her. Nehwal, however, still remains India’s best badminton player from the back of the court, besides having an effective net game. She relies on rallies to wear down her opponents, while Sindhu believes in powerful stroke play.
However, one aspect where Sindhu scores over Nehwal is her devastating smashes. While she is a more natural athlete, coach Pullela Gopichand has worked wonderfully on her defence. Nehwal, who is being coached by Vimal Kumar, requires around eight weeks to peak before a tournament. But at her height, she is a treat to watch and rarely allows rivals to break her momentum.
Mental games
Sindhu's star has been on the ascendance on the international circuit in the past couple of years. She has buttressed her defence and worked on her ability to remain unfazed under pressure. While Nehwal has been a proven champion, constant injuries and niggles have led to uneven performances over the past few years, which even saw her slip to the ninth spot in the world rankings after briefly claiming the top spot in April 2015.
But Nehwal has refused to be affected, even when critics unfairly questioned her commitment to the game in the recent months. Sindhu, on the other hand, is riding an impressive purple patch, performing beyond expectations in an event where she was touted as the challenger and not a contender. Her Olympic silver has given her the additional confidence to not only take on higher ranked players but also defeat them.
Sindhu’s unprecedented success and Nehwal’s unfortunate injury has meant that the 21-year-old has become the toast of the nation, with many claiming that the Nehwal era has seen its best days. This judgement might create self-doubt in the mind of the former World No. 1, but as she has shown in the past as well, she is gloriously capable of comenbacks.
So, who'll win?
While Sindhu trumps Nehwal in fitness, stroke-play and confidence after her exploits in Brazil, it is the 26-year-old who is, obviously, more experienced.
Sindhu has the ability to take on higher ranked opponents and defeat them when she displays fine skill and temperament, which she has picked up over recent months. Her current mental state is her biggest weapon and, if she were to play against Nehwal, she would go in with this confidence.
But then Nehwal has that wealth of experience of playing in big matches, which gives her the crucial ability to understand her opponent’s tactics and mould her game accordingly. Remaining icy cool during tense moments and being victorious despite the odds is a trait which an athlete as she moves up the elite ranks.
A battle between India’s superstars Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu will be a close affair right now, with their contrasting styles of play being starkly evident in this hypothetical match-up. Our prediction: her experience will take Nehwal through, but only just.