New Delhi: National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has praised the shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap for their performance on the global stage which he said has given a fillip to the game in the country.
For the first time in the recent history of Indian badminton, as many as three Indians found themselves in the top-20 rankings in the world. London Olympics bronze medalist, Saina ended the year as the third-best women player in the world, while Kashyap, who is the first Indian man player to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics this year, achieved a career-best world No.14.
Rising shuttler PV Sindhu, who enacted a giant-killing act in September when she beat 2012 Olympic gold medalist Li Xureui of China and reached the women’s singles final in the Syed Modi India Grand Prix Gold, also finished the year at a career-best ranking of 19.
Gopichand said, “This year has witnessed a phenomenal improvement in Indian badminton. I’m confident of seeing more quality players emerge in the coming year.”
BAI President Akhilesh Das Gupta also heaped praise on the shuttlers, saying, “I congratulate all Indian badminton players for the good show. Saina (Nehwal) is a shining example for Indian sports today. It’s very heartening to see that our training system is reaping results.
“The future of Indian badminton looks extremely bright with players like Kashyap and Sindhu improving by leaps and bounds, and many other shuttlers emerging on the horizon.”
The rise of Indian badminton also witnessed the launch of the path-breaking $1 million Indian Badminton League, which is scheduled to be held in June-July, with the best shuttlers of the world and India expected to participate. Ashish Chadha, CEO of Sporty Solutionz Pvt Ltd, which is is the Commercial Partner for planning and executing the IBL, said, “The Indian Badminton League will take the sport to the next level.”
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