Indian badminton is all set to make its mark as for the first time India will have a strong team of five shuttlers representing the country at the Olympics. This is the first time ever that India would be represented in four out of five badminton categories in the Olympics.

Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap would be India’s flag bearer at the women’s and men’s singles categories respectively whereas Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnapa, Jwala-V Diju would lead India’s charge at the women’s doubles and mixed doubles event.  This is the first instance that India has qualified for the doubles’ event.

Lot of hopes have been pinned on the badminton contingent and the question that arises is that whether India can continue their momentum in the grandest sporting event of all and leave the ‘Wembley Arena’, venue for the badminton  event in Olympic on a high note.

Here is a look at the qualified shuttlers and their chances at the quadrennial event:

Saina Nehwal:  Four years back in Beijing Olympics not much was known about her but then she did not fail to leave her mark. She entered the quarters and lost to Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia. She was leading the third game 11-3 before going down. That loss perhaps was perhaps the worst of her career. But then she did make sure that her performance was not touted as one time show and she rose through the ranks and reached career best of second in World Rankings. Over the past four years she has won many international tournaments including three this year and without any doubt will be the leading the pack of shuttlers in London.

Currently world number five, Saina was going through a bad phase last year but jumped back into thick of action after she defended her Swiss Open title in February this year. She looked sloppy after that though, but peaked at the right time after she clinched the Thailand Open Grand Prix and Indonesia Open Super Series Premier back-to-back. She has been amongst the top five shuttlers of the World badminton for quite some time now and her consistency and ability to thrive under adversity is what makes her such a potent force to reckon to in London. She has had troubles dealing with the Chinese players but then she had been able to decipher the Chinese code at the right time which now makes her an even bigger threat in the Games.

But then like everybody the past performances would hardly matter and her performance on the given would matter the most. She would need to maintain her form and beat the Chinese once again in the Olympics to realize the dream of winning a medal in the Olympics.


Parupalli Kashyap: He was the bronze medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and certainly looks a medal prospect. His determination and hunger is what makes him a potential force at the Olympics. There was only one spot on offer and it was a very difficult task in hand for him qualify as his compatriot Ajay Jayaram was 1000 points ahead of him and World number 30 Kashyap required to win at least two more matches than Jayaram. Even though he was lucky as he got a walkover in the quarterfinals, he still showed that when pushed against the wall, he can do wonders. The nation could expect Kashyap to win a medal for the country. His giant killing ability is what makes him a serious prospect for the country in the Olympics. Ranked 23 in the World, he has shown great character in beating world number three Chen Long and 16th ranked Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark in Indonesia Super Series last month. 


Jwala-Ashwini: One of the charming pairs of World badminton, but looks is not all that they have got. The pair is led by senior pro Jwala and is a perfect mix of youth and experience. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa are the players who actually brought the women’s double badminton in reckoning in the country after their gold medal winning feat at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. There experience of playing at the Wembley Arena in 2011 where they won the World Championship bronze would add on to their confidence

Jwala-Diju: The pair created history in 2009 when they became the first Indian pair to win a Grand Prix Gold Title. Currently ranked number 13, they reached a career best of 6th in 2009. Jwala-Diju who have weaved together a series of good shows and look good to win a medal taking into consideration their record at the global stage.

By Samikshan Dutta Choudhary

Indian Sports News