Indian badminton at Paris 2024, a tale of unfulfilled promises

The Indian badminton players' performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics was a letdown, failing to live up to the high expectations set by past achievements.

With a seven-member squad, including renowned players like PV Sindhu in women's singles and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in men's doubles, hopes were high for a memorable campaign.

Unfortunately, the reality fell short of these ambitions.

Sindhu’s first medal-less Olympics

Sindhu’s pursuit of a third Olympic medal ended in disappointment as she was defeated by the eventual silver medallist He Bing Jiao 21-19, 21-14 in the pre-quarterfinals.

"This loss is one of the hardest of my career. It will take time to accept, but as life moves forward, I know I will come to terms with it," Sindhu said after her exit.

Sindhu did not have to toil much in the group stage. She beat Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq of Maldives 21-9, 21-6, and Kristin Kuuba of Estonia 21-5, 21-10.

However, a much bigger test awaited her in the quarterfinals. Bing Jiao, who lost to Sindhu in the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal playoff, dominated the proceedings in the quarterfinals.

Sindhu struggled to gain momentum, with Bing Jiao’s defensive prowess and strategic play preventing her from winning any significant points.

Sindhu’s morale was visibly affected after the first game, and despite her efforts, Bing Jiao’s strong lead in the second game proved insurmountable.

"Despite these challenges, standing here and representing my wonderful country at a third Olympics makes me feel truly blessed," Sindhu said.

This marks Sindhu’s first Olympic appearance without a medal, ending a streak of success that began in Rio and continued in Tokyo.

The big upset in doubles

Satwik-Chirag's exit is inarguably the biggest upset for India at the Olympics as they were considered the biggest medal hopeful in badminton for India.

The third-seeded Indian duo had a strong start to the Olympics, beating even Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto. But they fell short in the quarter-finals against the unseeded Malaysian pairing of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in three games (21-13, 14-21, 16-21) in 64 minutes.

Their early exit after a promising group stage campaign left everyone upset including their coach Mathias Boe.

“I know the feeling all too well myself. I know you guys are gutted, I know how much you wanted to bring a medal back to India, but this time it wasn’t meant to be," Mathias Boe the coach of Satwik-Chirag wrote on Instagram as he announced his retirement from coaching.

The women's doubles team of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa did not advance beyond the group stage, ending their campaign with three losses.

Lakshya's 'Sen'sational campaign

Lakshya Sen was truly sensational on his Olympic debut. He became the first men's singles player from India to qualify for the semi-finals and came close to bringing home the first medal in his category.

He qualified for the quarterfinals perhaps pulling off one of the biggest upsets when he took down third seed Jonatan Christie 21-18, 21-12 in a must-win game group match.

Lakshya was trailing 0-5 to Christie in the first game. However, he quickly restored the parity and then took an 11-9 lead. Christie fought back but Lakshya won five points on the trot to finish off the first game.

The second round was more or less one-sided in favour of the Indian as he closed the game 21-12.

He was then pitted against India's HS Prannoy in the round of 16. The game against Prannoy was a breather for Lakshya as Prannoy seemed rather unfit. Prannoy competed at the Olympics after recovering from chikungunya. Lakshya won 21-12, 21-6.

Lakshya overcame a spirited Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in a closely contested game 19-21, 21-15, 21-12 to qualify for the semifinals. However, in the semifinals, Lakshya went down fighting against the eventual gold medallist Viktor Axelsen 22-20, 21-14.

Axelsen was trailing in both games - 17-21 in the first and 0-7 in the second - but the ace shuttler made comebacks to win both games and close the match that lasted almost an hour.

"I think the experience made a difference today. I think Lakshya played better than I did in big parts of the game," said Axelsen after the match. He also predicted a gold medal for India's Lakshya at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

But, the Indian shuttler could not sustain the Lee Zii Jia onslaught in the bronze medal playoff, despite winning the first game 21-13.

A bruised forehand meant Lakshya needed frequent medical breaks and lost momentum. Lee won the next two games (21-16, 21-11) to steal the bronze medal. Lakshya had to settle for a heartbreaking fourth-place finish.

The absence of a medal, particularly after the high hopes and previous successes in the sport, reflects a disappointing outcome for Indian badminton fans and athletes alike.