It was Siri Fort Badminton Complex where Saina Nehwal became the first-ever Indian woman shuttler to achieve the BWF World No 1 ranking back in 2015.
Ten years later on Sunday, Saina returned to the same complex as part of the Legends Vision initiative of Yonex where former greats of the game like Lin Dan, Taufik Hidayat, Peter Gade, Lee Chong Wei come together to promote the sport.
In an exclusive conversation with the Indian Express, the 2012 London Olympic medallist discussed the current situation of Indian badminton, the next generation, why they lack in power, and why smart phones have made them ‘soft’ when competing.
Excerpts:
Yours and PV Sindhu’s game was built on strength and power which gave you the success you had. Do you think the current crop of players have similar strength and power?
Saina Nehwal: I feel strength and power come to an athlete naturally. They can be developed later also but at an early age, it is pretty much natural. The current set of players have really good strokes and shot making ability but I feel they lack the power game. The explosiveness which can shock or surprise the opponent is needed in crunch matches. I am sure the power can be developed over the next two to three years. All of them have good trainers and teams which bring the change to their games.
Do you think the amount of work you used to put in your training is something the newer players lack in their ecosystem?
Saina Nehwal: There is definitely some difference between how kids train now and how we used to train. Today’s generation is very smart but the difference is that I used to listen to my coach and trust like anything. Today, if the coach gets angry, kids feel bad about it. They have become a little soft and I think social media and phones have a lot to do with it. Apart from that, a lot of kids are training alone these days. It is difficult to train alone as you don’t get the required competition and variety. When we used to train in a group, we would have a variety of shuttlers to train with who had different playing styles. It really helped at the top level where everyday you face athletes with all kinds of skills and techniques.
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Who are the players (in women’s singles) next in line who excite you?
Saina Nehwal: There are a few names from the top of my mind like Unnati Hooda, Anmol Kharb, and Tanvi Sharma. These girls have displayed immense talent recently. Anmol was part of the historic Asian Team Championships title and the way she performed in the pressure moments tells you about the mentality she has.
Similarly, Unnati has been really good. She has done well in recent tournaments and her game is suited for the big matches. Her deception is really good and she has quite a bit of endurance to grind out the three games. Tanvi has got really strong legs which are very helpful in her on-court movements. It is about time that these girls will come along. The competition and pressure has increased over time but we have a lot of talent in our country and eventually they will show the results.
How do you see the current badminton scenario of India, especially in the past three to four years?
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Saina Nehwal: Lakshya Sen won the Australian Open today and I think that is a good sign. More is expected from him after his good show at the Paris Olympics.
Right now, I think there is only one thing missing and it is the consistency of winning titles. All the Indians are playing well, especially the new generation. We have Indians defeating big players but consistent results are missing. If I look at the players in men’s and women’s singles, the youngsters have got a good game but then, they need to deliver the results also.
How long do you think that this transition will take?
Saina Nehwal: Each sporting powerhouse goes through a phase like this. Transitions in sport is a tough phase and I think we are going through that.
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Like if we take the men’s singles era of Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei, others used to win very few titles but it didn’t mean the other players were bad.
Similarly, An Se Young and Akane Yamaguchi are dominating right now and meanwhile, we are going through transition.
Our players have good games and they are smart too. They play well against the top players. Sometimes, transition can take time and I won’t write off the current generation.