It was just the first day of the 2018 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Bangkok and unless there is miracle in the offing, the Indians are out of the competition after just one match each for the men’s and women’s teams.
No one really gave India a chance to find a place on the podium after the selection committee decided to rest top stars like Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu, along with Commonwealth Games silver medallists Chirag Shetty/Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and bronze medallists Ashwini Ponnappa/N Sikki Reddy. To add to that, it emerged on the first day of the competition that Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy, on a high after their recent elevation to world No 22, wouldn’t be available to play.
While the squad selection itself was debatable given the stature of the tournament, the thought process behind the move was that Indian team didn’t really stand a chance of winning a medal in Bangkok even if the big stars played. And it was better to give them an opportunity to rest and train with the World Championship and Asian Games just round the corner.
This meant that there was enough opportunity for the second string to make a mark and push for more exposure since a spot in the quarter-finals was a realistic possibility and the way the schedule was made, the Indians needed to start strong to achieve that goal.
Why was Prannoy rested?
However, it was baffling to see that the Indian think tank rested world No 9 HS Prannoy for the match against France despite knowing well that they had to try and win the three singles rubbers to clinch the opener in the absence of their top two doubles pairings.
Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth, who took the court first in place of Prannoy, gave the team a winning start with a comfortable victory against the dangerous Brice Leverdez, but it was all downhill from there.
The men’s doubles combination of Shlok Ramchandran/MR Arjun and Sanyam Shukla/Arun George looked completely out of place against opponents who were ranked below them. More than the defeat it was nature of their play that left everyone wondering whether they were just going through the motions instead of looking to make a mark on the highest stage with the whole badminton world watching.
Recently, national champions Manu Atri, who is currently recuperating from a shin injury, and B Sumeeth Reddy had vented their frustration at being clubbed with this group of doubles players and being asked to play national ranking tournaments nominated as selection trials for the Asian Games. Their argument was that they are ranked 22nd in the world, and are head and shoulders above competition, and hence should be treated as an elite pair like Satwik and Shetty. Sunday’s performance of the two doubles pairs would only vindicate their stand.
One could probably make allowance for Sameer Verma having a rare off day against Lucas Corvee, though his performance was clearly below par. But questions would definitely be raised over the mental strength of Lakshya Sen after the way he let go of a huge advantage to lose against Toma Junior Popov.
Young brigade disappoints
The former world junior No 1 was leading 19-10 in the opening game before the Frenchman won 10 straight points to reach game point. Though he missed the first opportunity, Popov grabbed the next to take a lead in the match.
Sen was clearly found wanting in strategy and gamesmanship when all he had to do was to break his opponent’s rhythm. Nerves getting the better of the world number 88 could be a simplistic answer but one can’t forget that it was an inconsequential rubber with the result already decided. He was also facing a player he had already beaten twice in the past.
The women’s opening-round encounter against Canada was equally disappointing and once Saina Nehwal lost to Michelle Li in the first match, the result was a foregone conclusion.
However, one was interested to watch how the much talked-about Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy stepped up on the big stage – an opportunity she had been fighting for. But she, and later Sri Krishna Priya, were both found wanting in all departments of play against slightly experienced opponents. India would have lost 0-5 if not for the only win registered by women’s doubles pairing of Poorvisha S Ram and J Meghana.
More than the losses, it was the way these second string players played that was baffling. There was little purpose in their approach on the court and that would be more worrying for the coaching staff.
The Badminton Association of India had taken a positive step of trying to award domestic circuit performances by trying to blood a few performers in the team championships. Many have been arguing that some of the players making the teams on the basis of their international rankings were only getting the advantage as they had the money to spend for global exposure.
No one is expecting them to set the court on fire in the Thomas and Uber Cup, but Sunday’s showing lacked the pride with which any player is expected to go out when playing for the country in such prestigious tournaments. Unless they manage to do that in the next two group encounters, the results notwithstanding, the experiment of blooding them in major competitions would have to filed under “failure”.