What is holding back India’s women’s singles players?

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The dependence of Indian women’s singles badminton on PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal has now been apparent for a while. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the women’s singles badminton final was played out between PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. Subsequently, at the 2022 CWG in Birmingham, Sindhu clinched the gold medal, which begs the question why no other female Indian player could qualify for the final after a gap of 4 years, or even leave a substantial mark.

While players such as Aakarshi Kashyap, who recently won gold at the National Games after defeating MalvikaBansod, have created in impact on the domestic front, to truly succeed as successors to Sindhu and Nehwal, they must collect victories in the international stage too.

What sets Sindhu and Nehwal apart are their aggressive style of play, and the strategic ways in which they can increase pressure on the opponent. This is aided by Nehwal’s mental strength which has helped her overcome many challenges in her career and Sindhu’s physical agility and height, which lends a dominance to her style of the play.

However, an analysis of Bansod’s game reveals that she doesn’t apply much pressure on her opponent as demonstrated in her match against PV Sindhu at the Syed Modi India International Super 300. While she can play fast shots, she was unable to regain advantages when Sindhu retaliated. Similarly, when Kashyap played against BusananOngbamrungphan at the 2022 India Open, she started strong but was unable to sustain her form and ultimately lost in straight games.

However, to excel in women’s singles badminton does not require a fixed style of play, as demonstrated by a variety of techniques by players such as Sindhu, Tai Tzu Ying, RatchanokIntanon, Nozomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi.

Therefore, Indian players need to not only step up the aggression, but also develop the ability to play a wide range of techniques that can make them competitive on the international stage. Moreover, with 4 players ranked in the top 10, 6 players ranked in the top 20 and 8 in the top 30 of the BWF junior world rankings, there is no dearth of young badminton talent in the nation. However, to forge a successful career, these players must develop both their technique and physique, and select tournaments strategically.