Indian Badminton in 2015: Saina’s Consistency & the Rise of Talent

The Indian badminton circuit has been on the rise in 2015. Can we make it big in the Rio Olympics in 2016?

File photo of Saina Nehwal. (Photo: Reuters)

While all the focus is on Indian cricket, one sport has quietly been making its way up the ranks in India: Badminton. And it’s not just Saina Nehwal but other badminton players in other categories as well.

With the 2016 Rio Olympics around the corner, Indian badminton is peaking at the right time.

Saina Nehwal struggled with injuries in 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

Saina Nehwal

The world number two, Saina Nehwal continued to trouble the top badminton players in 2015.

The 25-year-old had one of her best years, but it could have been better if she was free of injuries. The ace badminton player is fighting an ankle injury because of which she was out of the Dubai Series opener.

Achievements
Saina Nehwal won two titles this year – the Syed Modi International Championships and the Yonex Sunrise India Open.

She beat the current All England Open champion and current world number one to Carolina Marin in a crunch game to win the former title.

The latter victory propelled her to the world number one spot making her the first Indian woman to achieve the feat in badminton.

Flops
Saina Nehwal may have been consistent in 2015 but she failed to close out some important tournaments. She reached the finals of the World Championships, All England Championships and China Open Super Series Premier but didn’t have the killer instinct to win the titles.

PV Sindhu broke into the top 10 in January. (Photo: Reuters)

PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu has been around the top 10 area for the entire year. She became the world number nine in January but was out of the top 10 world rankings by April. The 20-year-old, like Nehwal, had to deal with an injury at the beginning of the year which hampered her season record.

Achievements
PV Sindhu successfully defended the Macau Open after beating Korea’s Kim Hyo Min in straight games. The other highlight of the year was when she beat the World and All England Champion Carolina Marin 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 to enter her first ever Super Series final.

Flops
The 20-year-old missed Badminton’s most prestigious tournament, the All England Championships, due to a stress fracture on her left toe. She was out of action for six weeks.

Parupalli Kashyap won two titles this year. (Photo: Reuters)

Parupalli Kashyap

Parupalli Kashyap, who is a childhood friend of Sania Nehwal, had a decent 2015. But unfortunately, even the 29-year-old witnessed a tough calf injury.

Achievements
P Kashyap began the year splendidly by beating the number one seed K Srikanth in straight games to win the Syed Modi International Badminton Championships and he also won the VIVO BWF Sudirman Cup later in the year.

Flops
The 29-year-old suffered a calf injury during the round-of-16 game against England’s Rajiv Ouseph at the French Super Series in October. He was forced to pull out of the second round and was advised rest for two months.

He was in the top 10 world badminton rankings from June to October but has slipped to the 14th spot as of date.

S Kidambi is the best Indian badminton player in the men’s singles circuit. (Photo: Reuters)

Srikanth Kidambi

S Kidambi is the best Indian badminton player in the men’s singles circuit. He has been in and around the top five mark in the world rankings all year. And presently, he has settled for the world number eight position.

Achievements
The 22-year-old had a brilliant first half of the year when he won two titles which include the Swiss Open 2015 and Yonex Sunrise India Open. He beat Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen in both the finals.

Flops
Kidambi was ousted from the opening round of the Macau Open and also the BWF Superseries Finals, Dubai in December after reaching the finals of the Yonex Sunrise Indonesian Masters 2015.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have been the premier doubles players for India for several years. (Photo: Reuters)

Jwala Gutta/Ashwini Ponnappa

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have been the premier doubles players for India for several years. They had a decent season with two wins. They broke into the top 10 rankings in August but were out again by September.

Achievements
The pair won the VIVO BWF Sudirman Cup and the Yonex Canada Open.

Gutta and Ponnappa went through the Korean pair of Chang Ye Na and Jung Kyung Eun to win the Sudirman Cup.

And then, they triumphed over the number one seeded pair, Eefje Musken and Selena Piek from Netherlands in straight games to become the Yonex Canada Open champions.

Flops
The Indian duo were out of the second round of the Yonex England Club and were out in the first round in the last four tournaments, the most recent of which was the Macau Open.

They won a tough game against the Japanese pair, Reika Kakiiwa and Miyuki Maeda in the pre-quarters of the World Badminton Championships but they lost in straight games in the quarter-final.