'Not enough power in women's game anymore'

Saina Nehwal was grinning ear to ear as she stepped on to the badminton courts of the Siri Fort Sports Complex on Sunday.

- Sandip Sikdar

Saina Nehwal and Peter Gade during an exhibition match at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

(HT)

It was here that Saina had won the India Open a decade ago. It was here that the former world No.1 had helped India claim their first Uber Cup medal, a bronze, in 2014. It was here that Saina’s gold helped India achieve an unprecedented second place finish at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The trailblazer of Indian badminton, Saina had started winning senior level internationals tournaments from the tender age of 15. Also an early starter, PV Sindhu followed suit to become India’s first and till date the only world champion.

But a gap has developed in both men’s and women’s singles as Indian badminton faces transition. Where Indian singles shuttlers were clinching titles regularly throughout the calendar back in the day, the best bet the country has in today’s badminton is the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who have also not won a title since May 2024.