Saina Nehwal, Flag-bearer of India's Badminton Revolution
The year 2015 was a memorable one for Indian badminton, with Saina Nehwal's World No. 1 ranking the icing on the cake without a doubt
It had started happening by the end of 2014 itself. And in 2015, it was there for the rest of the world to see -- the great Indian badminton revolution. The most heartening fact for sports fans is that India's success in badminton at the world stage did not stop with Saina Nehwal. (Saina Nehwal Settles For Silver in World Championship Final)
Truly a game-changer for her sport in the country, this year Saina got a couple of big monkeys off her back, winning medals in major events. The Olympic bronze medallist won silver at both the World Championships and the All England. (Saina Nehwal Set to Regain No. 1 Ranking in World Badminton: Report)
On both occasions, Saina lost to Spain's Carolina Marin, with whom she kept swapping the world No. 1 and 2 rankings throughout the year. But by the end of the year, Saina had done enough homework, beating her younger opponent in fantastic style at the year-ending championships in Dubai. (Carolina Marin Beats Saina Nehwal to Win Female Player of the Year Award)
Mission Rio
More importantly, Saina established the fact that beating the Chinese was not a one-off. But 2016 is the year of the Olympics, and Saina is desperate to change the colour of her medal from London four years back. (Prakash Padukone Urges Saina Nehwal to Consider Sports Psychologist to Succeed in Rio Olympics)
Staying injury free, and picking and choosing the right tournaments leading up to Rio 2016 is going to be the key for the Hyderabadi, who became the first non-Chinese woman to become the world No. 1 in singles since 2010.
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Even though she won her second consecutive World Championship medal, a bronze, a large part of PV Sindhu's 2015 went battling injuries. Sindhu is yet to return to the top 10 of the world rankings, but her form in the Denmark Open towards the end of the year saw her in better shape. Sindhu's high came towards the end of the year when she won the Macau Open for the third time in succession. (PV Sindhu Wins Third Consecutive Macau Open Title)
Men steal spotlight
And that brings us to the men, who amidst the success of Saina and Sindhu, are often overshadowed. With four Indian men in the top 25 of the world rankings - Kidambi Srikanth (9), Parupalli Kashyap (15), HS Prannoy (10), and Ajay Jayaram (22) - Indian badminton has never had it this good. And that's happened because of some consistent showing in the big tournaments, against big players. (Kidambi Srikanth Loses in BWF Superseries Finals Tournament, India's Challenge Ends)
Kashyap beat world No. 1 Chen Long in Indonesia, Prannoy got the better of world No. 2 Jan Jorgensen here in India, while Ajay Jayaram got the closest possible to winning a Super Series, when he made it to the title clash in Korea. (Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap Drop Two Places Each in Badminton Rankings)
Srikanth, who made the world wake up and take notice of him when he beat the legendary Lin Dan in his own backyard in 2014 for his first Super Series title, added one more to his kitty, beating world No. 6 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark twice this year.
The doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa may not have had any major titles, but getting themselves on the government's Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme was a win of sorts for the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallists. With their coaching, training and funding now in place, the duo can prepare to work towards Olympic qualification for the second consecutive time. (Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa Win Canada Open)
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Home-spun talent
The best part perhaps of all these success stories is the fact that all these players are home grown - from modest backgrounds, with parents who've made multiple sacrifices before their children turned into superstars, and honed and trained right here in India with the facilities and coaching available in India.
"If I can do it, any Indian girl can do it," Saina had told NDTV after becoming the world No. 1. True, it gives many young girls the guts and hopes to consider sport as a career. But before that, after ages perhaps, Indian badminton promises to give us more than one medal when the Summer Olympics get under way in Rio de Janeiro.