Asian Games 2023: Positives for Indian badminton
The Asian Games 2023 brought out the best of Indian badminton, with shuttlers returning home with a record three medals. While the medals are a testament to the growth of the country's players, the positives run deeper than that.
While India has been on the badminton scene for a long time, the country has rarely had multiple medal contenders in the same event. Moreover, given an unexploited doubles talent pool, India was never considered a real challenger for gold in team events like the Sudirman Cup.
This trend shifted in 2022 when the Indian men's team stormed to an unexpected but widely welcomed Thomas Cup victory. With this win, the Asian Games saw the same team enter the event as genuine competitors for the top spot on the podium.
While Indian shuttlers were unable to grab gold, they returned with silver after a hard-fought battle with China in the final, which is proof that India finally has a solid foundation in badminton.
The popularity of badminton in India sky-rocketed after Saina Nehwal's bronze at the 2012 Olympics and was furthered by PV Sindhu's silver in 2016 Rio.
However, Indian men's singles players seemed unable to deliver the same results when it came to major competitions. This all changed when Srikanth Kidambi rose to World No.1 in 2018.
Soon after this, India got its first men's singles bronze in 36 years at the World Championships with Sai Praneeth's semi-final finish in 2019. Now, four years, and three more World Championship medals later, HS Prannoy did what no Indian men's singles player has done in the last 41 years.
The shuttler clinched a bronze medal at the Asian Games, marking India's first men's singles medal since Syed Modi's bronze in 1982, and the only second medal in the event of the games.
This medal marks India's rapid growth in the men's singles category, and further cements the country's status as an upcoming badminton powerhouse.
Asian Games 2023: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's game-changing gold
Undoubtedly the most important victory of Indian badminton at the Asian Games was Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's men's doubles gold.
Not only is this the first time the Indian flag has flown so high at a badminton event in the Asian Games, but the fact that it was a doubles pair that did it is even more impressive.
Doubles has always lived in the shadows of Indian singles, but Rankireddy and Shetty have been busy changing this conception.
The duo have multiple big achievements, including a medal a the world championships, but winning India's first badminton Asian Games gold stands out as an unforgettable moment.
Rankireddy and Shetty's win is proof of India's evolving doubles game and promises big thugs to come for the nation.