Indian badminton can hit platinum age, says Padukone
Former All England champ praises Sindhu’s achievements
MUMBAI: Calling it the ‘golden phase of Indian badminton’, with Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu grabbing the limelight, Prakash Padukone has said that with better planning things can be even better for the country in the sport.
The 1980 All England Badminton Champion hailed Sindhu’s recent triumph in the China Open Super Series Premier tournament as a “great achievement”. “It’s her first Super Series title and it’s definitely a great achievement because after you had done so well, expectations are high and to win the Super Series title coming from there — so close to the (Rio) Olympics — is a great achievement,” said Prakash at a press conference to announce the 9th Tata Open India International Challenge, which starts from Wednesday.
All eyes are on how Sindhu copes with the challenge of Spain’s World and Olympic champion Carolina Marin having lost to her in the Rio Olympic Games final.
Marin’s consistency is impressive and Padukone pointed out how she picks and chooses the tournaments. “I have to speak with Caroline’s coach to study how they choose the tournaments she plays in,” said Padukone with a smile. “Marin plays in very limited big tournament for her high success rate and points. That’s what I would highly recommend for Indian players, to plan their strategy for success ahead of big tournament.”
The Indian badminton legend also backed Saina to return to where she was before the leg injury suffered during the Rio Games. “She (Saina) will come back, it’s just a matter of time. She is not playing in Dubai (Super Series finals). She will get a break. By early 2017, it’s possible for her to be back to where she was before her injury.”
Padukone implored the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to develop a countrywide initiative to tap the growing talent base that has been ending up losing interest in the sport for want of competitive challenges.