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World conqueror Sindhu, fast-rising Lakshya steer Indian badminton in 2019

A momentous gold at the World Championships more than made up for PV Sindhu’s otherwise ordinary run in the circuit, while teenager Lakshya Sen ensured Indian men’s badminton had a strong future to look forward to in a mixed bag that was 2019.

World conqueror Sindhu, fast-rising Lakshya steer Indian badminton in 2019
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Lakshya Sen

New Delhi

After two silver and two bronze medals, Sindhu finally fetched India’s first-ever World Championships gold in the sport but spent rest of the year struggling for form. The Worlds in Switzerland, in fact, was a biggie for India in more than one way as B Sai Praneeth emulated Prakash Padukone by winning a men’s singles bronze, ending a 36-year wait.


India had a lot going for it in the doubles circuit as well with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty leaving many of their illustrious seniors behind by becoming the first Indian men’s pair to win a Super 500 title at Thailand Open. The combination also reached the French Open Super 750 final.


But the Indian star of the year in men’s badminton was without doubt the 18-year-old Lakshya, who clinched five titles to zoom his way to a career-best 32nd. Sourabh Verma also rediscovered himself and claimed super 100 titles at Vietnam and Hyderabad besides entering the Syed Modi International Super 300 final.


In women’s singles, besides Sindhu’s World Championships high, Saina Nehwal bagged the Indonesia Masters Super 300 crown before being bogged down by injuries and pancreatitis. Sindhu, who had stacked up five silver medals including three in the major events and gold at the World Tour Finals last year, looked inconsistent throughout the year.


She turned it around under new Korean coach Kim Ju Hyun with a runner-up finish at Indonesia Open and the coveted gold at Basel that took her tally to five World Championship medals. It made her only the second woman player after Zhang Ning of China to achieve the milestone.


But her stocks nose-dived after that as she struggled to make it to the business end of major tournaments. She also failed to defend her title at the year-end World Tour Finals. In men’s circuit, Praneeth’s final appearance at the Swiss Open and a few quarter and semi-final finishes saw him end the season as the best-placed Indian at World No.11.


Kidambi Srikanth, who had won four titles in 2017 and claimed the gold at the Commonwealth Games to grab the World No.1 status for a brief while in 2018, struggled to get back to his all-conquering best. He reached just one final at the India Open before a knee injury affected his progress. He finished the year at the 12th spot.


HS Prannoy also continued to find the going tough. A bout of dengue in September further pegged him back as he finished the season 26th in the world rankings. While the seniors struggled, Lakshya grabbed headlines with his memorable run.


Starting the season at world rank 109 in January, Lakshya moved to 76 after a final finish at Polish Open. He then claimed the Belgian International in September before winning the Dutch Open Super 100 and SaarLorLux Super 100 in October. He went on to claim the Scottish Open crown in November before ending the year with his fifth title at Bangladesh International Challenge. In women’s doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy had a forgettable year as they made 13 first-round exits and were ousted from second round three times.

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