Paris 2024 is the first time in three editions of the Olympics that India failed to add a medal from badminton to its tally.
Notwithstanding Lakshya Sen’s fourth-place finish and the surprise defeat of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, the overall performance provided a crude reminder of how empty the Indian cabinet is.
In short, Lakshya’s run partly made up for the shocking loss of Satwik-Chirag. The rest of the performances were as anticipated.
After all, barring Satwik and Chirag, no Indian badminton player had made news at this year’s BWF Tour.
The gravity of India’s poor showing could be gauged from Prakash Padukone’s reaction soon after Lakshya lost the bronze medal match. The legendary shuttler, known for his now-characteristic soft responses whenever asked for his views on Indian badminton, spoke from the heart and asked players to take up more responsibility.
Travelling for the first time to the Summer Games as part of the support staff, Prakash did not hide his disappointment. This came after his trainee Lakshya let eventual double Olympic gold medallist Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen escape with deficits of 17-20 in the first game and 0-7 in the second game of the semifinals.
Even in the bronze medal match, Lakshya moved close to victory before faltering dramatically. He won the first game comfortably and led 8-3 in the second against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia before squandering nine points in succession and thereafter the match.
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Sindhu’s periodic defeats, most of those to lower-ranked players, were an indication of her lack of form. In fact, since suffering a stress fracture on the left ankle during her 2022 Commonwealth Games gold-winning campaign, Sindhu’s comeback after a five-month layoff has been far from impressive.
Here, 13th-ranked Sindhu lost, in the pre-quarterfinals, to the first higher-rated player she faced. The straight-game defeat to China’s eventual finalist He Bing Jiao did not come as a surprise. But it may be recalled that Sindhu defeated the same opponent to clinch the bronze in Tokyo.
A quick look at the last three Olympics reveals a medal from each edition in women’s singles. Saina Nehwal (bronze in 2012 Olympics) and P. V. Sindhu (silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021) kept the Indians interested longer than their male counterparts.
Though Sindhu was around without promising much in Paris, the duo of Satwik-Chirag was considered a medal favourite.
They warmed up for the battles ahead with easy wins in the league stage to move to the quarterfinals. Seeded to be on the podium, the third seed ran into the unpredictable and experienced duo of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
The Indians played to their form in the first game to close it at 13 in just 17 minutes. There was a twist in the tale in the second when the Malaysians bounced back from 0-4 to win five successive points. This spell injected an immense self-belief in the unseeded pair. The Indians tried to catch up, but in vain. In the decider, Satwik and Chirag looked in control at 11-8 and 14-11 to lead until 16-15.
Thereafter, in a dramatic turnaround, the Indians’ defence fell to pieces and the relentless Malaysians raced away with the final six points in a flash to leave their opponents stunned.
The performance of Ashwini Ponnappa and her younger rival Tanisha Crasto was on expected lines. This pair lost all three group matches in straight games.
On the brighter side, a touch of saving grace came from an unexpected quarter. Lakshya, World No. 22, kept punching above his weight, eventually reaching the semifinals.
Lakshya started his maiden Olympic campaign with a straight-game victory over Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon. However, Cordon withdrew after this match and thus the result stood nullified. Lakshya went on to beat Belgium’s Julien Carraggi, also in straight games, to set up the match to decide the qualifier from this group to the pre-quarterfinals.
Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, seeded 16 – against Lakshya’s 19 – started as the ranking favourite. But Lakshya settled down early, played some amazing strokes, and kept the rallies going when on the defensive and produced some clinical finishing shots to win 21-18, 21-12 in just 50 minutes.
In this match, Lakshay trailed 2-8 and 16-18 before reeling off the last five points in a hurry to claim the first game. After the early exchanges in the second game, Lakshya repeatedly pounded his rival with measured jump smashes on either flank, kept his net-play consistent and broke Christie’s belief to win much before the match reached the home stretch.
The 39-minute victory over Prannoy, the scoreline being 21-12, 21-6 ensured that Lakshya was not stretched before the quarterfinal clash against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen, seeded 12.
Having taken out the third-seeded Christie in the group stage, Lakshya was not expected to meet a player any higher till the semifinals.
There’s always a next time: The early exit of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty from the men’s doubles competition was the biggest shocker. | Photo Credit: PTI
Against Chou, Lakshya kept his cool despite dropping the close first game at 19. He believed his game was getting better and proved it for a vociferous group of Indian support in the arena over the next two games. He returned the favour by clinching the second game at 15 and raced away with the decider at 12. During these 49 minutes of the 75-minute clash, Lakshya was dominant. He showed no hurry to construct the points, used his energy effectively and progressively finished the rallies at the first available opportunity.
His percentage of errors dropped and Chou looked resigned in the second half of the decider. Lakshya sealed a place in the semifinals and needed at least one more win to ensure a medal.
The encounter against Axelsen was never going to be easy. The second-seeded reigning champion, who did not drop a game in the competition, found Lakshya too hot to handle in the first game.
Axelsen, who invited Lakshya to train with him in Dubai more than once, struggled to match the young Indian at the net. Some desperate shots from Axelsen did not help his cause. Lakshya grew in confidence to enlarge his lead to 15-9 before the Dane closed the gap to 17-18. Lakshya held his nerves to hold three game points at 20-17 but couldn’t find the finishing touch. Five straight points and Axelsen was a game ahead.
In the second, Lakshya jumped to 7-0 in quick time but once more, Axelsen was not to be denied a game. He caught up at 10-10 and moved ahead at 13-12 and allowed the struggling Indian just two more points of the last 10.
Once the lanky Dane began dictating terms, Lakshya looked completely out of ideas. The meltdown was dramatic but given the class of Axelsen, the youngster could be excused.
However, the way Lakshya let Lee Zii Jia snatch the bronze from his grasp was hard to explain. A dominating first game saw Lakshya close the opener at 13 in just 20 minutes. A lead of 8-3 in the second was almost like the beginning of the end for the Malaysian who appeared to have been struggling to even settle down.
No doubt, the drift in the playing hall played its part but then, it was equal for both players. In the second game, when Lakshya played with the drift, he found it increasingly difficult to control the shuttle and often hit long. The loss of this game at 16 meant the momentum shifted to Lee. In quick time, he jumped to 9-2 and stayed comfortably ahead for the duration of the decider which went on for 26 minutes, the same as the second game.
Surprisingly, Lakshya’s judgement faltered with alarming consistency. He failed to read the length of Lee’s returns when the Malaysian was hitting with the drift. When the players changed sides after the mid-game break, Lakshya began missing the lines. This meltdown, in two successive matches – probably the biggest of Lakshya’s young career – made Prakash call a spade a spade when talking to the media.
Prannoy did just what was expected of him and no more. He defeated two lesser-ranked players in the group stage of the competition. Looking unfit in the key clash against Lakshya, he surrendered rather tamely.
Overall, Indian supporters were left praising Lakshya’s fourth-place finish. The exit of Satwik and Chirag proved to be the biggest shocker. The elimination of Sindhu, Prannoy and the women’s doubles pair was in keeping with their form, rather the lack of it.
It is time for Indian badminton to see beyond the gloss provided by Saina and Sindhu for long. The rise of Satwik and Chirag, coupled with the unpredictable showings of Lakshya, hold some promise for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Truly, it is futile to look too far ahead at this point.
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