Ever since Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa surprised the world – and even themselves – by ending India’s 28-year wait for a world championship medal at the Wembley Arena in 2011, the country’s shuttlers have ensured a podium finish in every edition.
PV Sindhu has been the most consistent winning three medals from the next four editions while Saina Nehwal bagged two. And the country’s shuttle queens completed another first last year in Glasgow when India bagged two medals in the same edition for the first time in the history of the competition.
With the 2018 edition of the world championships staring in Nanjing, China, on Monday, the obvious hope among the badminton fans would be for an encore and a possible gold that eluded Nehwal in 2015 and Sindhu in 2017.
While there is no doubting the potential of our top stars and their ability to win against any opponent on given day, the form book of the Indian shuttlers since the historic triumph at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April doesn’t make for a happy reading.
In contrast to the last year where the likes of Srikanth, Sindhu and even a B Sai Praneeth had been winning major international events, India’s cupboard is bare in 2018 with no Indian having won a Superseries level or above title (Super 500, Super 750 or Super 1000 according to the new format) since the start of the year for the first time since 2013.
Apart from Sindhu’s run to the Thailand Open final and a couple of commendable victories for HS Prannoy over top class opponents, other players including Nehwal and Srikanth have struggled to find the momentum ahead of the world championship.
Even Sindhu hasn’t really been on fire through the year and as many experts point out, she has probably hit a stagnation point in terms of her game and tactics and needs to reinvent herself to once again be the force she was in the last two years.
Prannoy, on the other hand, has also been struggling with an ankle injury that saw him not give his 100 per cent against Chen Long in the Thomas Cup group match. He seems to have recovered since then but with the World Championships and Asian Games being held within a fortnight of each other, it remains to be seen whether he will manage to hit his peak in either tournament. Even Nehwal and Srikanth haven’t been at peak fitness this year and that has affected their overall performance.
The performance of the doubles combinations have really nothing to crow about in the last two months with Ponnappa taking a break and the men’s doubles combination of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also working on a few technical aspects of their game.
The aforementioned facts probably make for a gloomy picture about India’s chances on the eve of the 24th edition of the championship.
But that’s probably just one part of the story.
Decent draws, lucky break
In tournaments like the World Championship where even a semi-final appearance guarantees a medal, one or two special performances against the favourites can catapult a player to glory.
Sindhu managed to do just that when she clinched back-to-back bronze medals in the 2013 and 2014 editions while even Jwala and Ashwini’s second round win over second seeds Cheng Wen-Hsing and Chien Yu-Chin paved the way for their glorious run.
Unlike those occasions where the medal winners had to get past almost three seeds as they were unseeded and had no luck of the draw, most of the Indian medal contenders in Nanjing have a easy passage to the pre-quarterfinals stage.
Nehwal and Sindhu have a bye in the opening round and should easily sail through the next before they face a worthy challenger.
Nehwal’s first real challenge is likely to come from former world champion Ratchnok Intanon, whom the Indian hasn’t lost to since returning from the knee injury. The Thai shuttler has clearly not been at her best over the last two years and that should give enough confidence to the Indian.
This probably leaves her with just one tricky match against Carolina Marin in the quarters to find a place on the podium.
Sindhu’s path is slightly more tricky since she is likely to face Sung Ji Hyun, against whom she has a 7-5 head-to-head record, in the pre-quarters and her 2017 final nemesis Nozomi Okuhara in the quarters.
In the men’s section, Srikanth’s chances have received a major boost with the withdrawal of second seed Lee Chong Wei. The Indian was expected to meet the Malaysian in the quarterfinals, the same stage where nerves got the better of him in the last edition against Son Wan Ho.
This means the biggest challenge for the world No 6 before the semi-finals is likely to come from two talented Indonesians Jonathan Christie and Anthony Ginting. Even they are looking for their first World Championship medal and hence Srikanth should start favourite on virtue of his experience of playing more bigger tournaments than them.
The other Indians, including HS Prannoy, have a slightly difficult path to the semis but then the Asian Championship bronze medallist has time and again shown that he is at his best with his back to the wall.
The low-key build-up should also help the players this season as the expectations from them aren’t huge and they have had some quality time to prepare for the World Championship and the Asian Games.
But all the analysis apart, this Indian contingent would need some luck to continue their run of podium finishes in the World Championships. The withdrawal of Chong Wei and Sai Praneeth’s first round opponent Son Wan Ho has definitely given the men’s singles stars a lucky break. It remains to be seen how far well they can build on it.