Men's singles shuttlers are back: Ajay's ranking & Singapore SS a proof of it

IN INDIA, when one thinks of badminton the names that come to mind our Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu and rightly so. Their endless number of accolades an rewards they have gathered, their names are also taken globally in the sport.

But one always thinks and questions the performance of the male shuttlers in India. Badminton may be the only sport in India where women are in the forefront. Also make note that, the making of India into a badminton society was begun by the men. Thanks to Prakash Padukone's All England title in 1980 that put India on the badminton map and then the baton was taken forward by current national chief coach Pullela Gopichand.

There are no dearth of shuttlers in the men's category, they are often sidelined because of their consistency which is not at par as the shuttlers in women's category. But just like Parupalli Kashyap in an interview with TFG, said,

"Even after Saina left the academy, there was again just one shuttler to cater to in WS that is Sindhu which is not a tough job for Gopi. But at our level at the same time, there were 10 guys and if then you ask about our consistency we'll say that we are extremely consistent. Just look at the way Sameer is performing and all other shuttlers in fact. So there are many doing well at the same time in MS. And we need more coaches with special capabilities like Gopichand who can focus on the shuttlers."

If the above mentioned quote is pondered upon, one will learn how difficult it is for one person to cater to 10 or more shuttlers at the same time and expect them to perform and win titles everytime.

The questioning and finger-pointing have been put to rest because they are back with their best performances. Ajay Jayaram's ranking and Singapore Super Series are a proof of the same. Ajay's performance at Malaysia Super Series Premier helped him climb up the rankings, his career best of 13.

This joy was followed by an all Indian finale at Singapore SS which has never happened before in the history of Indian badminton (two Indian men's singles shuttlers at the SS final).

Both Kidambi Srikanth and Sai Praneeth displayed the best performance of their life in Singapore throughout the tournament. The former had skipped the Malaysia SSP to concentrate on his training and his comeback was a memorable moment. Praneeth, on the other hand has always been under the shadow of his stalwart compatriots. But this was his moment to shine, playing in his first ever SS finals and he made the most of it.

The desire to want something and the drive and passion for the same helped him beat Srikanth in the finals and win the coveted title and make a statement.

Kashyap then made his comeback at China Gold Prix Gold but failed to go beyond round three. But just to echo his words, expect some fireworks from the male shuttlers and it is indeed unfair to compare the two categories. With the number of shuttlers coming up in the category and the level of competition has gone up, the future only looks bright.

And for some time now, the critics have been put to rest, cause the men are back!

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