INDIA ENJOYS UNPRECEDENTED RECOGNITION AT ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2010 Asian Championships could herald in a new inspiration that could aid India set the record straight to the present status quo of the sport in the region.

For far too long, Asian badminton had been dominated by China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Korea primarily. India hopes to break this trend and set the stage for a fresh and promising start to its breed of young players in its various development stables to catapult the nation to new heights and earn recognition as one among the elite of Asia. The start could come at its own backyard Delhi and as early as12th April, the first day of the 2010 Asian Championships. 

Indian badminton had enjoyed periodic success in the past along the international arena, starting more than half a century ago with the likes of Davinder Mohan and then a string of highly respected performers in the persons of Suresh Goel, Nandu Natekar, Dinnesh Khanna and more recently Prakash Padukone and Gopichand.

But unfortunately, in previous years the nation’s credibility as a power in the sport had always been restricted to the brilliance of individuals. It had never been ‘Indian badminton’ as such but rather ‘Natekar’, ‘Dinnesh’, Prakash’ or ‘Gopichand’.

While India looks to the day when it can produce an Olympic or World Champion, signs are afloat that this may not be very long in coming. The Asian Championships 2010 starting later this month could well be the catalyst that the nation had been waiting for.

Already signs have appeared of the changing face of Indian badminton. It may be too early to identify any particularly person or event that has inspired this awakening, but recent developments definitely augur well for the future.

Probably the most important tell-tale sign is the qualification of Indian teams to both the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals in Kuala Lumpur in May this year. This effort is unprecedented.

Then the pleasant surprise - the Draw for the 2010 Asian Championships.  For the first time in the history of the Event, Indian players were top seeded in two of the five events!

The teenage darling of Indian badminton Saina Nehwal in the Ladies Singles and the Mixed Doubles pairing of Jwala Gutta and Diju Valiyaveetil in the Mixed event.

It is unfortunate that the Chinese and the Koreans have decided to stay away from the Ladies Singles but that should not diminish the value the Championships since there are enough quality players from Hong Kong, Taipei, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia providing credence to the events. Mi Zhou (Hong Kong), Yip Pui Yin (Taipei), Wong Mew Choo (Malaysia), Eriko Hirose (Japan), Salakit Ponsana (Thailand) are some among the challengers to the coveted title.

Apart from this top seeding which gives her a decent shot at the title which she has never won before, Saina is also enjoying her highest world ranking ever – fifth which places here in the company of the formidable Chinese and the Danish lass Tini Rasmussen.

In the Mixed event, Jwala and Dipu won favour over the very formidable Chinese pairing of Tao Jiaming & Zhang Yawen to be top ranked.

Apart from them, Indian players featured prominently in this Asian Champiosnhips  include Chetan Anand, Arvind Bhat and Kashyap in the Singles and the pairing of  Sanave Thomas & Rupesh Kumar in Men Doubles.

With the tournament being held on home soil and at the Siri Fort Sports Complex which will be the venue for the October Commonwealth Games, Indian shuttlers have the best platform to finally prove themselves capable of holding their own against some of the cream of Asia.