India has always had a rich history in badminton at the international level. From the 1980s, when Prakash Padukone put India on the badminton map, there has been a consistent presence of Indians succeeding at the highest level of the sport.
But an Olympic podium finish was elusive for the Indian shuttlers until 2012.
In 2012, the prodigious shuttler from Haryana, Saina Nehwal, broke the deadlock and hoisted the Indian flag on the Badminton podium at the Olympics.
She won the first-ever badminton medal for India in the women’s singles event.
A Promising Show at Beijing 2008
Long before the triumph at the English capital, Saina was a teenage sensation in the badminton world.
She moved to Hyderabad when she was little and she took the world by storm taking one giant leap after another, before stepping foot into the Olympics.
Making her debut Olympic appearance at the age of 18, Saina had a campaign to remember, finishing as a quarterfinalist in the 2008 Games.
She became the first Indian woman to reach the last eight of the Olympic quarterfinals. She managed to cause some big upsets, most notably defeating Hong Kong’s Wang Chen, then world no.5.
Although she lost to Maria Kristin Yulianti from Indonesia in the last eight, she managed to turn heads.
But the dream was not yet realized.
History in London
Although Saina won many silverware between the two Olympic Games, her eyes were fixed on the 2012 London Olympics.
Although she came down with a viral fever just before the Olympics and was not fully recovered, Saina managed to wade through the group stages with minimal trouble.
Facing Dutch shuttler Yao Jie in the round of 16, Saina yet again prevailed winning the match 21-14, 21-16.
A much tougher matchup in the last eight awaited Saina, as she was pitted against three-time All England Open winner Tine Baun of Denmark.
In what was an intense game, Saina came out on top in straight games 21-15, 22-20 but the game did take its toll on the stalwart shuttler in combination with the aftereffects of her viral fever.
Up against China’s Wang Yihan, Saina simply couldn’t match the physical demands needed to muster up a fight and despite her best efforts, she succumbed to the Chinese.
But all was not lost for her. In the bronze medal match-up against another Chinese shuttler Wang Xin, Saina was on the better side of the luck.
After losing her first game 21-18, Saina was struggling but an unfortunate injury and the subsequent withdrawal of her opponent meant Saina was awarded the bronze medal.
While the bronze medal match was anti-climatic, it was fully deserved for the first-Indian woman singles star from India.
She scripted history, becoming India’s first badminton Olympic medalist, and all of her hard work had paid off.
India’s prospects in badminton, at the Paris Olympics are very high with expectations of multiple podium finishes across categories, and it is beyond any doubt that Saina’s journey will serve as a beacon of hope and motivation as they march in, hoping to bring back to the country, the highest of honors.