With or without PV Sindhu, Indian women’s badminton continues its audacious run at international team events. This time around, a squad with an average age of just above 20, without the top stars, has secured quarterfinal qualification at the Uber Cup.
As has been the trend since February, young Anmol Kharb put the calm, finishing touches to a 4-1 win over Singapore, after she beat World No 207 Lee Xin Yi Megan. National coach Pullela Gopichand dubbed this performance “the real growth of Indian badminton – it’s how well the second string fares.”
Gopichand calls not the Olympic, Asiad or Worlds medals as the story of the rise of this sport in India, but these two wins over Canada and Singapore on consecutive days by an Uber Cup squad comprising little-known names, after the top players opted out. Gopichand’s glee is down to a rejection from babudom 30 years ago.
“Back in 1990 (Auckland) and 1994 (Victoria), Indian badminton teams were not cleared to go to the Commonwealth Games because the government told us we had no chance to win against some 5-6 teams. I clearly remember Canada and Singapore were two of those,” he remembers the sting of that rejection. A large part of the 1990s was spent in oblivion.
“For me, the story of badminton’s revival doesn’t start with our All Englands or 2006 when Saina (Nehwal) broke through. It starts after being told ahead of Auckland that India aren’t good enough. We got 0 medals in team events in the 1990s, to the point now where men are defending the Thomas Cup and women are Asian team champions. Now just watch these women – Ashmita, Isha, Anmol, Simran, Ritika, Priya, Shruti and Tanvi – take us into Uber Cup quarters with confidence,” he says.
Isharani Baruah in action at Guwahati Masters 2023
The final group tie against a full-strength China might be considered too tough on paper, but there is bubbling curiosity about how the likes of Isharani, Anmol or Tanvi and the doubles team stack up, and what sort of fight they show. No one’s as talented or physically gifted as Sindhu. But the coach sees very good potential all around.
On Sunday against Singapore, Ashmita Chaliha couldn’t start with a win, going down 21-15, 21-18 to Yeo Jia Min. But national champs Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra were assured in a 21-15, 21-16 win over Xiao En Heng and Yu Jia Jin. Isharani Baruah logged in another good day, beating Insyirah Khan 21-13, 21-16, before Simran Singhi and Ritika Thakker won 21-8, 21-11 against Yi Ting and Michelle Zan. Then Anmol mopped up her usual fifth rubber with relish.
Isharani is collecting wins even when it’s widely visible that she can step up a notch. Shruti plays the smart thinking game in the front, while Priya is strong from the back and has some wickedly innovative serves, the coach adds.
“The depth in the second rung is great. Two weeks back, Anmol and Tanvi didn’t even make quarters of a national ranking tournament which tells us that there are 8-10 beyond this group who are all at the same good level. There’s Devika Sihag, Rakshitha, Shriyanshi, Anupama outside this group,” he says.
For all that optimism, all of India’s future anxieties can be scrunched into that first defeat against Singapore. It involves Ashmita, who back at the 2019 Guwahati Nationals gave Sindhu an almighty scare in the semis and was promptly dubbed a wunder kid. Five years older now, at 24, the up-and-down inconsistency continues.
Bafflingly, Ashmita defeated the stubborn fighter Michelle Li on Saturday in straight games, and promptly crumpled against Yeo Jia Min. Ashmita is dangerous in the first four rallies of a point, past which she begins to slacken. When she can’t land gettable winners early, she gets impatient and her game goes to pieces as the rally lengthens.
‘Too casual’ is an internet idiom in vogue, but Ashmita allows her flashy game with little defensive capabilities or intent to get punctured. She has exceptional strokes, but not enough grit to put the shuttle back in bread-and-butter exchanges.
It’s not unique to her. The likes of Michelle Li, Carolina Marin and Tai Tzu-Ying were all flashy and fast and restless in their early years. But they disciplined their minds to tone it down and bring in more consistency. On slow courts with opponents defending 9 times out of 10, the left-handed Ashmita crumbles when asked to deliver under pressure.
Gopichand though insists it’s not an irretrievable career. “She definitely has the game and has had potential for seven years now. She got India the crucial win at BATC after Sindhu lost, by beating (Nozomi) Okuhara. Yesterday, she beat Michelle Li. These are good results. But she needs to get consistent. You need to always sit with a stick and push her. If she can put her head down and in all aspects is pushed out of her comfort zone, she can get so good,” he says.
Future opportunities
Post Paris Olympics, plenty of spots are going to open up in the Top 20 with retirements imminent. But the only Indians who look to be prepared to pounce on those chances are Anmol, Isharani and young Tanvi Sharma.
Post Sindhu, India has been producing a lot of runners in the Japanese mould – Akarshi Kashyap, Malvika Bansod, Anupama Upadhyaya, and to an extent even Isharani. But where the Assamese can foray ahead, and what Ashmita should really delve on as her advantage is the quality of stroke-making, where Anmol, Tanvi and Isharani are slightly better.
“They will have to develop strokes on the run which Sindhu was good at. Without strokes or exceptional retrieving, you can’t crack Top 20 just on running speed. Anmol, Tanvi, Isharani have them, but it’s some way to go,” Gopichand says.
For the moment, he’s happy with the bunch that will not be fazed by playing the Chinese in China in their next tie, before the quarterfinals fetch up. While all attention will be on India’s Thomas Cup defence, India’s Little Women have ensured they give it a proper spunky go.
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