This is the first time since London 2012 that the Indian badminton contingent has returned without a medal. (Image: AP)
The Indian shuttlers were expected to do well, but have not lived up to expectations as they return without a single medal resulting in their worst performance since London 2012 Olympics.
The Indian badminton contingent ended their campaign at the Paris Olympics 2024 on a disappointing note as none of the athletes were able to bring home a medal.
The performance by the Indian shuttles had caused a major uproar with the former World number one, Prakash Padukone suggesting that the players had to take up responsibilities for the many fourth-place finishes and that the federations had done their part to support the athletes.
While the fixture list did not favour the Indian shuttlers, particularly when Lakshya Sen had to take on HS Prannoy in the pre-quarters earlier. Nonetheless, the Indian contingent had a fair shot at a medal but was not able to deliver the goods.
Sen was the only one who was able to make his way to play for the bronze medal but he lost out against the seventh-seeded Jia Lee Zii to end the Indian badminton contingent’s campaign on a disappointing note.
This also marks the first instance since London 2012 where India has returned without a single medal, adding even more disappointment to the performances that were on display.
Let us take a look at how each Indian shuttler performed at the Paris Olympics 2024:
Tanisha Crasto & Ashwini Ponnappa – Women’s Doubles
Arguably the most disappointing showing amongst the Indian shuttles was certainly the women’s doubles duo of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponappa. The latter’s experience was not enough as the pair suffered a group-stage exit, losing all three of their games without winning a single set. Following their final game, Ponappa also announced that it would be her last game at the Olympics.
HS Prannoy – Men’s Singles
The 32-year-old shuttler from Kerala was able to get past the group stages undefeated but was up against the fellow countryman in Lakshya Sen where the latter took the win in a straight-set victory, thus ending his campaign. It is to be noted that Prannoy was suffering from Chikungunya before the Olympics which might have hampered his performances.
PV Sindhu – Women’s Singles
After a strong show in the group stages where she did not concede a single set in the two matches, Sindhu was up against the sixth-seeded He Bing Jiao from China. Despite a fighting performance in the first set, the Chinese shuttler was able to take the game away in the second set with a more dominant show.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty – Men’s Doubles
A contender for a possible medal, the experienced Indian duo of Satwik-Chirag had a strong showing in the group stages where they dominated in the two games with straight-set victories. But in the quarterfinals, the third-seeded Indian duo fell against the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh.
Lakshya Sen – Men’s Singles
By far India’s best showing in badminton for the Parisian games, Sen had a strong start to his tournament by blitzing through the group stages. He also went past fellow compatriot, HS Prannoy in the Round of 16 clash with yet another dominant performance.
But he was tested in the quarterfinal where Sen was up against Chou Tien-Chen from Taiwan who was the 12th seed. But after conceding the first set, Sen came back strong to win the next two and move ahead.
In the semi-final, however, the luck of the draw was not in his favour as he was up against the defending champion, Viktor Axelsen from Denmark. Sen looked to take on the challenge but ultimately fell short as the Danish champion took a straight-set victory and went on to win the gold medal.
However, Sen had a shot at taking the bronze but Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia was able to come back after conceding the first set to take the bronze medal, thus ending India’s campaign on a disappointing yet heartbreaking note.
Here’s a list of India’s medal-winners in Badminton at the Olympic Games:
Saina Nehwal – Bronze at London 2012 Games
The former World No 1, Saina Nehwal was able to create history with India’s first medal in Badminton at the Olympics as her opponent Wang Xin from China was forced to pull out in the bronze medal match due to an injury.
PV Sindhu – Silver at Rio 2020 Games
PV Sindhu was able to create history as India’s first silver-winning medalist in badminton at the Olympic Games. She was also the first Indian woman to claim a silver medal as well. The shuttler made it to the final where she was up against Spain’s Carolina Marin where Sindhu suffered a defeat but brought pride to the nation nonetheless.
PV Sindhu – Bronze at Tokyo 2020 Games
Sindhu was able to create history yet again at the Olympic Games as she became the first Indian woman to have won two medals at the quadrennial event. The 2019 World Champion was defeated by Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei en route to the gold medal match. Sindhu was able to beat He Bing Jiao of China to take the bronze medal to bring make the nation proud yet again.
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