A stage for Sindhu to shine on, a platform for Saina to prove her point

Two stars, one struggling to emit the old spark and other gaining lustre with each passing day, will be shepherding India’s badminton hopes at the Asian Games.Four years ago at Guangzhou, much of the hopes rested on the shoulders of Saina Nehwal. The Queen of Indian badminton then, the Hyderabadi, fresh from the Commonwealth Games gold she won in front of adoring home fans at Delhi, headed to China with plenty of confidence that she could tame the Red Dragons in their own den.

Although she failed to accomplish that, thanks to questionable scheduling that made her compete late in the night, the 24-year-old Saina, this time though, appears to have the baton stolen from her by the fast-rising PV Sindhu. While Saina has been struggling with injuries for the better part of the season, the 19-year-old Sindhu has finally emerged out of the shadows of her senior pro in resplendent fashion.

After winning the Commonwealth Games’ bronze medal in Glasgow this July, she won her second successive bronze at the World Championships in Copenhagen where her never-say-die attitude was in full evidence. After surrendering the opening game from a position of strength to Shixian Wang in the quarterfinals, Sindhu showed great tenacity to oust the World No 2 while trailing in the second.

With her form and confidence improving with every passing tournament, Sindhu can be counted as a genuine medal contender at Incheon.

In contrast, Saina, who first showed that the mighty Chinese can be beaten, appears to be caught in a muddle. She hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons, just conjuring one singles title and an Uber Cup bronze. If that wasn’t enough, her decision to train in Bangalore with Vimal Kumar for three weeks ahead of the Asian Games raised questions on whether her relationship with mentor P Gopichand has broken down. However, it would be completely foolish to write her off, and a fighter always, Saina will be determined to prove she still is a burning star at Incheon.
Apart from Saina and Sindhu, one category where there was some hope for a medal was the women’s doubles but the pull-out of Jwala Gutta due to injury has completely hurt India’s chances. Jwala’s regular partner Ashwini Ponnappa is yet to decide on her new partner from the squad and while she has expressed her keenness to partner Sindhu, the team management may not want to put too much workload on the singles specialist.

Much can’t be said about the men though Paruppali Kashyap won a surprise CWG gold at Glasgow. With Chen Wong and Lee Chong Wei in the draw, the task appears herculean and the Hyderabadi will have to dish out his best almost every game to get his hands on a medal.