Indian badminton at the 2023 Asian Games: a test for the faithful Premium

As the shuttlers fly to Hangzhou for the Asian Games, there is hope (Chirag-Satwik and Prannoy) and anxiety (Sindhu and Srikanth) for a nation that has witnessed sensational success in badminton in recent times at the global level.

In 2013, Brazilian Genildo Ronchi published a cartoon titled As vezes só depende de nós (Sometimes it just depends on us) of two men in a bus, one looking at a sunlit scenery with a smile on his face and the other facing a rock wall looking desolate. This piece of art applies sums up the mood of the 19-member Indian badminton contingent heading to Hangzhou for the 2023 Asian Games.

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This has been an interesting year for Indian badminton. H.S. Prannoy’s resurgence in men’s singles has seen him break out of the ‘fringe player’ mould, starting from his clutch performances in India’s Thomas Cup triumph last year. More recently, he finished with a bronze at the BWF World Championships after sending out the erstwhile world champion Viktor Axelsen on home turf. Prannoy, World no.7 now, is India’s highest ranked men’s singles player.

The most potent weapon in India’s arsenal is the doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy. The pair’s imperious show was bookended by a gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was followed by titles at the Swiss Open and Indonesia Open. The historic gold at the Badminton Asia Championships was easily their most coveted triumph.

India’s best result in the Asian Games is P.V. Sindhu’s silver in the 2014 Incheon Games and ‘Sat-Chi’ look best placed to go where no Indian has. Dhruv Kapila and M.R. Arjun is India’s second entry in doubles. A combination forged by P. Gopi Chand, the two have played together for a few years, challenging higher-ranked opponents and proving they could be formidable on their day.

Young guns Lakshya Sen and Mithun Manjunath round off India’s squad in the men’s team event. The former withdrew from the Hong Kong Open Super 500 to nurse a minor neck strain. The 2021 World bronze medallist won the Canada Open this year but crashed out of the World Championship in the round of 16. An aggressive player who thrives on pace, Lakshya will eye a ranking improvement too and his ability to control a match and stay calm under pressure will come in handy.

In National champion Mithun, India has a fearless attacking option. 2022 was a big year for the 25-year-old as he vaulted 100 spots in the world rankings (133 to 33). Last month, though Mithun knocked out former World champion Loh Kean Yew 21-19, 21-19, the win was emblematic of his tendency to squander early leads.