Indian badminton has been plagued by this question for years. For eighteen years, the two shuttle queens continued to win medals at the greatest level, but a noticeable divide began to emerge between the two Olympic medallists and the next generation. Although it was only reasonable to think that additional young female shuttlers would follow in their footsteps, this didn't happen for a very long time.
Five years ago, just a few Indian names could be found in the top 100, and even though Saina and Sindhu were both in the world's top 10, there was no other Indian in the top 60. Pullela Gopichand, the head coach, has often emphasised how the younger generation lacks exposure and a planned programme. However, Indian women's badminton has suddenly seen a comeback, with five shuttlers ranked in the top 50 (No. 14 Sindhu, No. 36 Malvika Bansod, No. 41 Aakarshi Kashyap, No. 47 Anupama Upadhyaya, and No. 50 Unnati Hooda) and seven more between 51 and 100. Eleven more Indians are among the top 50 in the world at the junior level. Though talented, the following generation falls well short of the package that Saina and Sindhu presented, having won championship events by the time they were in their late teens. In spite of winning three consecutive medals in as many Olympics, Indian shuttlers left Paris empty-handed. However, if the upcoming generation is adequately trained in the new cycle, India can deliver another medallist in the 2028 Summer Olympics. Anup said, "There is a lot of potential to be tapped out of these girls if they follow the right training, get the right guidance and advice, and plan tournaments sensibly, which is extremely important." "Unnati, Malvika, Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, and Tanvi Patri can produce some good results which can easily take them into the top 25 if that is possible to achieve."
Malvika, a southpaw, made waves last week when she defeated bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung at the Paris Games and Scotland's seasoned Kirsty Gilmour to get to the China Open quarterfinals, a Super 1000 tournament. Aakarshi and Malvika are 23 years old. They now need to demonstrate consistency. After they continue to perform, people, the federation, and the girls themselves will gain confidence, according to Sanjay Mishra, who coached this group as a junior national coach before being named secretary general of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) in 2022.
