Praising the depth in the Indian men’s ranks and expecting it to last for the next decade, badminton legend Prakash Padukone however, lamented that the distaff side did not possess the same quality in
Praising the depth in the Indian men’s ranks and expecting it to last for the next decade, badminton legend Prakash Padukone however, lamented that the distaff side did not possess the same quality in class after world number two Saina Nehwal and no. 12 P.V. Sindhu.
“I am confident about the depth in men’s singles for the next ten years with so many talented youngsters ready to take over from the likes of P. Kashyap once they retire. But the same cannot be said about the women’s singles,” said Prakash.
“Apart from Saina and Sindhu, there is no one of international class at present. The same is true of the pairs events. A lot of work needs to be done in ladies singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles,” said the former All England champion.
“There is a lot of talent (among boys) in the smaller centres, which is a very good sign for the growth of the game. According to me, badminton has to be ranked in the top 3 sports in India based on popularity, standard and new courts. We are on the right track.”
Prakash said his academy (PPBA), which has completed 20 years of existence, had shifted its focus to the younger groups so that there was no duplication with the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad which caters to the seniors.
“I am glad that in the junior nationals the under-17 (Lakshya Sen, Arintap Dasgupta) and U-19 (Chirag Sen, Ansal Yadav) winners and runners-up are from our academy though they are from different states. Maisnam Meiraba, the Manipur boy who won the U-15 title, is also from our academy,” he said.
He, however, put the onus on verification of the correct age of players on the state associations and the Badminton Association of India, saying his academy was “only for training talented players.”
