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          Olympics: India's badminton stars seek medal streak in Paris

          ESPN / Getty
          • Zenia D'Cunha
          Jul 26, 2024, 03:00 AM

          Badminton has won a medal for India at every Olympics since London 2012 and for that streak to continue at Paris 2024, all eyes will be on two major contenders - PV Sindhu and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

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          The fact that we can have a conversation of two, or maybe even three medals if all chips fall into place, is testament to the progress and consistency of Indian badminton in the last few years. Indeed, despite the relatively smaller contingent - India has only five representatives in badminton - it would be a surprise, even a shock if Indian contingent came back without any medal.

          So, what are India's realistic medal chances? Let's take a closer look:

          Sat-Chi seek another first

          India's best bet for a medal will be in men's doubles, where Satwik and Chirag have made it a habit of achieving firsts for Indian badminton. Sat-Chi, as they are popularly nicknamed, are the first Indians to win a BWF World Tour Super 1000 title, gold medals at Asian Games and Asian Championship and become world No 1 in doubles. An Olympic medal is the next logical landmark.

          Strength: They have the game; a hard-hitting, swift and attacking style that thrives in the pacy men's doubles landscape. They have the form; reaching four finals this year and winning two of them. Most importantly, they have the mindset; their striking ability to scale up in big matches backed by the belief that they are among the best. They've already won in the Paris Olympics venue this year (French Open in March), the conditions rewarding their fast and furious style of play.

          Weakness: The only downside to their otherwise perfect preparation is a recent injury concern, which had forced them to pull out of their Indonesia Open title defence. The latest update is that Satwik's shoulder has recovered. Another issue is that some opponents, (like the top-seeded Chinese and world champion Korean pairs) have figured out how to fend off Sat-Chi's attack and deal in flat exchanges - as was seen at this year's Thomas Cup.

          Field of Play: Seeded third, they are the highest ranked pair in the group and their biggest challenge will be Indonesia's world No 6 and reigning All England champions Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. German world No. 31 Mark Lamsfuss and Marvin Seidel and French world No. 43 Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar are also in the group. The top two from each group progress, so they are all but ensured a knockout berth, the draw for which will be made after the group stage.

          When at their 100%, Sat-Chi are capable of beating anyone in the field and the hunger for an Olympic medal will make them even more focused, and dangerous. One more, slightly intangible advantage they have is a revenge mission after they missed out on the knockouts at Tokyo Olympics despite beating the eventual champions because of three-way-tie technicality. And if there's one thing that adds fuel to their fire, it's a chance to settle scores. In short, there is every reason to believe that Sat-Chi are genuine gold medals contenders for India at Paris Olympics.

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          Sindhu can go where no Indian has before

          PV Sindhu can become the first ever Indian, and women's singles badminton player, to win a third Olympic medal (individual sport) if she can get onto the Paris 2024 podium. And if there's one Indian who has shown up at every big stage podium for a near decade now, it's PV Sindhu. She stunned the world with her silver-winning efforts at Rio 2016, she battled hard for her bronze at Tokyo 2020. The road to Paris 2024, though, has been her hardest yet.

          Strength: Here's the thing, Sindhu has never lost to a Chinese player at the World Championships or Olympics. If there's one stat that encapsulates just why Sindhu is called a big-game player, it's this. She has this innate ability to raise her game with the Indian jersey on her back. She won the 2022 Commonwealth Games medal with a stress fracture on her foot and won the Badminton Asia Team Championship in February this year, coming off an injury layoff. The now 29-year-old is adding more variety to her strokes, returning to a more swift, sharp attacking game and has changed her entire coaching set-up; moving to the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore.

          Weakness: Those big World and Olympic medals? They were won before her injury in 2022. Since her return from a five-month layoff, Sindhu has struggled to regain her peak physical form. Her 2023 was a write-off; she had four different coaches and couldn't manage big wins before another injury hit. Her return in 2024 has been better - improved movement and strength enabling her to engage top players in battles. Yet, that one big win is still missing, with Sindhu losing a number of close three-game matches - sometimes due to stamina and sometimes due to slips under pressure (line calls and shot selection).

          Field of Play: Sindhu, seeded 10th, will have to get through both of China's players to get to medal contention. She has Estonia's Kristin Kuuba (world no 75) and Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq (world no 111) in her group, which she should come out of unscathed. Then, she faces 6th seed He Bing Jiao, who Sindhu had beaten in the Tokyo bronze match. The Chinese star leads the Indian 11-9 in their head-to-head now. If Sindhu beats her, there is a potential quarterfinal against.... the defending Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei. Sindhu had pushed her to the brink at the Paris Olympic venue earlier this year, but couldn't get over the line. Their head-to-head is a balanced 6-6.

          If Sindhu can somehow keep her China-beating streaking alive, the semifinal will likely be against old foe Carolina Marin a rematch of the Rio 2016 final. To win an unprecedented third medal, Sindhu will have to play her best of this post-surgery version yet.

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          Can Lakshya and Prannoy beat all odds?

          There will be two Indians in the men's singles draw the first time since Athens 2004 - HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen. Prannoy was in the form of life in 2023, qualifying for his first ever Olympics at the age of 32. Lakshya, 22, mounted a late charge in March this year to make the cut.

          Strength: Both Prannoy and Lakshya have medals at the World Championships in the last couple of years, and the potential to win an Olympic medal too. Prannoy won a bronze at the World Championships and the Asian Games last year and is the seeded player at 13th. He has the strokes and smarts to match the best and can grind out wins when needed.

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          Lakshya reached the semis of the French Open, at the Olympic venue, and the All England Championships and is one of the fastest and fittest players on tour, capable of producing big upsets as an unseeded player.

          Weakness: So why are men's singles not big medal hopes? Prannoy has been unwell. He is suffering from a recurrent gastric illness, which caused him to be a late bloomer in the first place, as well as a bout of chikungunya which has taken a toll on his body. He has been a shadow of his 2023 self this year, with only one semifinal finish and six first-round exits. Physicality will be the main concern for one of India's most mentally strong badminton players.

          Lakshya, who had to rebuild his confidence from scratch this year, needs to be able to finish big points, especially in the third game. He is unseeded, placed in a tough group and will need to be mentally and tactically sharp to be in with a chance to top his group.

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          Field of Play: Prannoy, by virtue of being a seed, is the highest ranked in his group which has Vietnam's Le Duc Phat (world no. 70) and Germany's Fabian Roth (world no. 82) He is expected to come out on top of the group. Lakshya, on the other hand, has been placed in a very tough group, with world No 3 and All England champion Jonatan Christie, who leads him 4-1 and has beaten him twice this year, in the All England semis and Thomas Cup. Guatemala's Kevin Cordon, who took the Tokyo Olympics by storm by a surprise run to the semis, is also in this group which is one of the few with four players.

          If both Indians top their group, it'll sadly mean only one can progress as they are projected to meet in the Round of 16. Japan's Kodai Naraoka is the potential quarterfinal opponent, a player that frustrate the best with his dogged style, but can be outdone in the faster Paris conditions. In the semis, third seed Anders Antonsen could await, who will have an easier road with a Ro16 bye and only two group matches. None of these matches are unwinnable for either of the two Indians, if their fitness and tactics fall into place in the crucial moments.

          Big challenge for Ponnappa-Crasto

          Ashwini Ponnappa, 34, is playing her third Olympics after partnering Jwala Gutta at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Tanisha Crasto, 21, is making her Olympic debut. It's not exactly a pairing anyone expected to be formed with the age gap, let alone grow and thrive and make the Olympic cut ahead of former India No 1 pair Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly. But the veteran and the youngster complement each other's game and have been steadily improving on tour.

          Strength: Still an unknown quantity on tour, they can spring a surprise on their day. Ashwini has the experience and fiery strokes while Tanisha, a livewire in the front court, has the speed and net touches to end points on their terms in the long-drawn women's doubles rallies.

          Weakness: The lack of experience together at the biggest stage, especially up against two higher ranked pairs in their group. The duo tend to make inadvertent errors at crucial points, which is something that only comes in with more game time at the big events... which is something that have recently been earning.

          Field of Play: The world No 19 have been grouped with Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida (World no. 4) South Korea's Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong (World no. 7) and Australia's Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu (World no. 27) They have lost their only meeting to the Japanese fourth seeds and have not played the other two yet.