Vimal Kumar: 'Seems next generation of youngsters have arrived to fill Saina and Sindhu's shoes'

The Indian women's team secured a historic victory at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam, Malaysia, on Sunday.

The achievement has sparked immense optimism from Vimal Kumar, former national team coach and Dronacharya awardee, who sees a promising future for India's women's singles.

Sunday's decisive moment came after young talent Anmol Khrab, aged 17, displayed her talent in the deciding rubber, for the third time in the tournament, securing a straight-game win to steer India to a 3-2 win over Thailand in the finale. This marked the first-ever title for any Indian team at the prestigious Badminton Asia Team Championships.

PV Sindhu, along with the women's doubles combo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, also contributed to India's thrilling victory by winning their respective matches.

Expressing his jubilation at India's epoch-making feat and Anmol Kharb's emergence as the newest talent of Indian badminton, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, Vimal congratulated the Indian women's team.

"Hearty congrats to our women's team for their historic triumph! Seems like the next generation of youngsters to fill Saina and Sindhu's shoes have arrived with a bang!! And what a talented and feisty bunch they are...," he wrote, naming several Indian youngsters in his post.

"...What a talented and feisty bunch they are - Anmol Kharb, Unnati Hooda, Tanvi Sharma, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand, Taneesha Crasto, Ashmita Chaliha, Devika Sihag, Isharani Baruah are just a few, and I'm sure many more will follow!!" he added.

Vimal also emphasised the importance of nurturing and grooming this talented pool of players for the future of Indian badminton. "This is a wonderfully talented pool of players whom we need to nurture and groom for the future!"