Mumbai: Saina Nehwal would not want to put a number on the probable medal count that the Indian badminton contingent can come up with at the Paris Olympics, but there was one she had no qualms in announcing.
“Ninety-five percent”.
That’s the odds the country’s first Olympic badminton medallist has given the Indian men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy to return with a medal from Paris. They are strong contenders for the gold too, the 2012 London Games bronze medallist reckoned, given their growth, form and consistency over the last couple of years.
The men’s world No. 3 combine headline the country’s prospects in Paris from a sport that has only seen Indian women bag medals thus far. Saina was one among the two-member Indian badminton contingent in her first Games in Beijing in 2008. For Paris, she felt, India’s strong seven-member squad is capable of continuing the trend started by Saina herself in 2012 of shuttlers delivering at least one Olympic medal.
“I hope (HS) Prannoy, (PV) Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag, Ashwini-Tanisha, Lakshya (Sen)…everyone gives a tough fight. All of them have shown good results in the last 3-4 months. There are definite chances that a medal will come (from badminton). At the moment, I can’t say how many, but they will come for sure,” Saina said here on Friday, after inaugurating the Badminton Pros Academy in Monte South.
The former world No. 1 shuttler believes such is the quality and consistency of Satwik-Chirag, who scaled the rankings peak this year, that they will start favourites to beat most opponents across the net. Except for perhaps a couple of Chinese pairs, including current world No. 1s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, and the Danish combine of Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen against whom the Indians have a 3-6 win-loss record.
“The only thing (to see) is how they fare against the top 2-3 pairs. China has a couple of good teams and the pair from Denmark has troubled them. Otherwise, they have very few opponents who can trouble them. Toh utna tension toh nahi hona chahiye,” Saina said.
Tension and pressure are often proportional to the expectations that an athlete carries into an event like the Olympics. Satwik-Chirag may well sense that going into Paris but Saina, who has lived through that feeling while consistently delivering victories and titles in her prime, said they have to embrace it.
“Pressure is something they’ll have to keep with them. Let it be. You just have to go with the flow. And go with those feelings. It will only settle once you start playing there. Once the match begins, sab theek ho jata hai. They’re doing really well. I’m sure the results will come.”
Third medal for Sindhu: ‘why not?’
Saina also doesn’t see why Sindhu cannot have a shot at winning her third Olympic medal to add to her 2016 Rio silver and 2021 Tokyo bronze. Her recent form may not portray that optimism but for Saina it matters little. What does is the kind of preparation and work she has put in.
“We have seen Lee Chong Wei win three back-to-back silver medals. So, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible, but the pressure of the Olympics is something different. You don’t know how the draw will be, how the situation is then. But if the preparations are good, then definitely there are chances to get the medal. Why not?”
Women’s game more physical now
Sindhu, 29 and coming off injury setbacks, has spoken about the women’s game becoming more physical and dominated by longer rallies. Saina, a player who flaunted a physical game herself, concurs, and believes a “mad player” like An Se Young is a prime example of it.
“Very long, very tough rallies,” Saina said of the evolving women’s game. “You need very good speed and endurance — where you also have to run faster and be quick all around on court. Because the game now requires all those things. Quickness, speed, endurance for almost one-and-a-half hours, and 4-5 days at a stretch.
“The game has become more physical. An Se Young, I mean, she’s a mad player. She’s quite strong with dives, picks up shots really fast, and also plays for long. And the same thing goes with Carolina (Marin), Tai Tzu Ying. The younger generation, from what I have seen, has good stamina than strokes. I don’t see Tai Tzu Ying type of players in the upcoming generation, but those who can dive and get back up almost immediately. These players have thoda sa alag, boy-ish kind of game,” Saina said.
As for the men, it’s an open field in Paris and changed times unlike the days of domination by Chong Wei and Lin Dan. Saina said she could name “8-10 players” who can be tricky on their day, led by Viktor Axelsen — “he has maybe 80% chance to win (at the Olympics)” she said — Shi Yu Qi, the current world No. 1, and most others in the top 10.
“And even Lakshya is among them,” Saina said. “Lakshya is such a good rally player; he has got excellent stamina, excellent attacking shots. Now it depends on how he plays there on that particular day. Men’s singles is tough. On the given day, they can beat anyone.”
