Top Indian badminton thrillers amidst a mixed-bag 2024

Only the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand made it to the World Tour Finals. Meanwhile, the likes of Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu, and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty blew hot and cold.

Here, we take a look at the top five badminton matches featuring Indians in 2024.

Lakshya Sen vs Chou Tien Chen, 2024 Paris Olympics Quarter-final

After an underwhelming start to the 2024 season, Sen was the brightest spot for India at the biggest event of the year – Paris Olympics. He was the only shuttler from the country to enter the semi-finals at the La Chapelle Arena; and he did so by fighting his way out from what was dubbed as the group of death.

Sen’s best display in Paris came in the quarter-finals. Up against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, the 23-year-old from Almora prevailed 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 in a contest which lasted an hour and 15 minutes.

Leading up to the new season, fitness was a major area of work for Sen. His training regimen regularly consisted of bicep curls, double rope climbs, treadmill runs, and yo-yo tests.

All of it came in handy as he outlasted Chou in a tiring battle to book his spot in the semi-finals on his Olympic debut.

The match saw a 51-shot rally as early as 7-7 in the opening game. It was just a 75-minute long display of rallies and other worldly retrievals.

Sen struggled to find his rhythm in the first game as Chou kept raining down smashes one after the other to pocket it 21-19 after the Indian had a 17-15 lead.

Sen, however, fought back.

There was also a point where he argued with the chair umpire after a review he sought was not displayed on the big screen. It was something which could have thrown him off his game but that day, Sen was a man on mission.

Though he went on to lose his next two matches – the semi-final and the bronze medal match – Sen, with his win over Chou, showcased that he can never be discounted.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty vs Lee Jhe Huei-Yang Po Hsuan, 2024 French Open Super 750 Final

Rankireddy and Shetty had kick started their 2024 season with two back-to-back runner-up finishes. The French Open Super 750 in early March broke that final jinx for the pair.

Up against Lee and Yang of Chinese Taipei, the Indians went on a roll. They blew past their opponents 21-11, 21-17 without giving them a chance.

This was incidentally at the same court where the 2024 Paris Olympics was slated to be played a few months later.

Though Rankireddy and Shetty failed to replicate their success come the big ticket event, the win over Lee and Yang helped them reclaim their French Open men’s doubles title from 2022.

Ranked world No 1 at the time, Rankireddy and Shetty were a cut above the Chinese Taipei pair.

They were not even tested in the opening game as they cruised to win it 21-11.

But with Lee-Yang getting a hold of the proceedings in the second game, the Indians were forced to dig deep. And they indeed did, thanks largely to some excellent smashes from the forecourt and extremely fast paced rallies.

Rankireddy and Shetty required just 36 minutes as they dismantled Lee and Yang to assert their dominance.

India vs China, Badminton Asia Team C’ships

The Indian women’s team’s gold medal winning run at the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships was one of the biggest highlights of the year for the country in the sport.

Led by PV Sindhu, the Indian team was already assured of a knockout berth with only two teams in Group W.

Despite bearing no pressure to win their only group stage tie, India came out all guns blazing.

They registered a first-ever victory in the continental tournament against heavyweights China.

It was the double Olympic medalist Sindhu, who got India rolling in the tie, as she beat Han Yue 21-17, 21-15 in straight games in the first match.

This match in February also marked Sindhu’s return to action for the first time since October 2023.

China, though, hit back to win the next two matches – the women’s doubles match against Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto and the women’s singles match against Ashmita Chaliha – to take a 2-1 lead in the tie.

With the tie slipping away rapidly, the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand stood up for India.

Despite losing the first game badly 10-21, Treesa-Gayatri fought back to pocket the next two games 21-18, 21-17 to level the tie at 2-2.

It was then that a young Anmol Kharb broke through.

Making her debut in the continental championships, the then 17-year-old helped India through.

Up against a much higher ranked Wu Lou Yu, Kharb registered a 22-20, 14-21, 21-18 win to kick start India’s dream run in Malaysia.

India not only beat China 3-2 in the inconsequential group stage tie, but also carried forward the momentum to win their first-ever Badminton Asia Team title in the women’s section.

Khrab went on to play a massive role in the gold medal finish, winning all three matches she played.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty vs Kang Min Hyuk-Seo Jae Seung, India Open Super 750 Final

The India Open Super 750 in January marked the second consecutive final appearance in as many events for Rankireddy and Shetty after having lost the title clash at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 just the week prior.

Buoyed by a noisy home crowd, Rankireddy and Shetty eased their way into the final in Delhi.

They were up against South Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Jae Seung – the same pair they had beaten in Malaysia in the semi-finals.

But unlike the favourable result in Kuala Lumpur, things did not pan out as anticipated for the Indian pair in front of their home crowd.

Rankireddy and Shetty did manage to pocket the opening game 21-15, but soon lost their way.

They struggled to counter the awkward angles the Koreans brought into play from the second game and plunged into a sea of errors.

They trailed 5-11 at the second mid-game break and never recovered as they surrendered 11-21.

Kang and Seo carried forward the momentum to open up an 11-6 lead before the change of ends in the decider. The Indians did force their way back into the contest following some encouraging words from coach Mathias Boe.

But much to the dismay of Indian fans, the Korean defense did not crack despite the relentless attacks from Rankireddy and Shetty, who eventually lost the decider 18-21 for their third successive final loss.

Lakshya Sen vs Lee Zii Jia, All England Open Super 1000 Quarter-final

The European leg of the 2024 World Tour is what started Lakshya Sen’s late surge to the Paris Olympic Qualification.

Having reached the semi-finals of the 2024 French Open Super 750, Sen carried forward his new-found form to the prestigious All England Open Super 1000 the following week.

While he seemed to be enjoying his stint in Europe, his quarter-final clash against Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia at the Super 1000 event stood out.

The Indian started off well in the contest, mixing up his shots, and even held the lead for most part but faltered in the later stages to concede the opening game 20-22.

Sen struggled in the second game as well against Lee’s fast smashes, but managed to keep his nerves under control and win the second game 21-16 despite trailing 14-16 at one point. He then won seven points in a row to force the decider.

Thereafter, Sen carried the momentum forward to the third game, opening up an 11-8 lead before the change of ends.

And despite Lee trying to prolong the rallies, the Indian found ways to win the game and match 21-19.

The win over Lee more or less ensured Sen’s safe passage to the Olympic Games, where he would sadly go on to lose to the same player in the bronze medal play-off.