The year was 2009. Denmark and Macau walked away from their bids to host the BWF World championships. The opportunity fell into India’s lap. Hyderabad had no clue at the time that it was about to stage the opening scene of a story that would take 17 years to finish telling.

In 2009, the country did not have the cast of characters to make a home World championships a triumph. Badminton had only flickered across the Indian imagination during Prakash Padukone’s All England title in 1980 and P. Gopi Chand’s echoing of it 21 years later — stray flares in a long darkness.

Humble beginnings

Saina Nehwal was the closest thing to a rising star. Aged 19 then, she had just become the first Indian woman to win the World junior championship and the first Indian to claim a Super Series title. The Olympic medal and No. 1 ranking were still years away. P.V. Sindhu was 14.

There was no Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) funding. Corporate India didn’t see a reason to cut a cheque. Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) was in its early stages.

ALSO READ | P.V. Sindhu: “Winning it on home soil, for the country, is all I could ask for”

Saina’s quarterfinal finish at the 2008 Beijing Olympics caught the nation’s attention but the machinery beneath the sport hadn’t caught up to the moment. When the Worlds came to Hyderabad in 2009, the money just wasn’t there.

Gopi Chand himself went door to door, hat in hand, trying to talk India Inc. into caring. Yonex’s entire sponsorship contribution was around 200 boxes of shuttlecocks. Government support was barely a whisper. The multi-purpose Gachibowli indoor stadium became the stage, and the crew running it were young players — and sometimes their parents — pressed into service.

“We hosted a bunch of events in that period. Nationals [2004], Asian championships [2005], India Open [2008 and 2009], and the World championships, after which the Commonwealth Games infrastructure was created in Delhi. We had our challenges, but we hosted a grand event. People still talk about it in Hyderabad,” Gopi Chand recalled.

H.S. Prannoy, a volunteer in 2009, put the improbability of it more bluntly.

“Badminton wasn’t popular then, so people were hesitant to sponsor it. I remember hearing a lot about Gopi sir doing the rounds to ask for sponsorships. But I don’t think there was even one complaint about the event. To pull it off the way they did was spectacular,” he said.

“We were all there at that time as volunteers, helping arrange small things. But the one thing we all remember is that we got a chance to watch guys like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei up close — which, back then, was almost impossible! The confidence and motivation you get from seeing them live propelled me for the next couple of years.”

ALSO READ | Gopi Chand: “Horizons much bigger for the present players”

The tournament came off without a hitch. And yet India finished empty-handed, still stuck on the single bronze Padukone won in 1983.

Seventeen years later, the Worlds return to a country that no longer merely makes up the numbers. It now expects to be standing on the podium, and usually is. Fourteen medals have arrived in the years since, spread across every discipline but mixed doubles, crowned by Sindhu’s gold in 2019.

Ask what lit the fuse on all of it, Saina’s run at the 2008 Olympics and her bronze four years later in London take centre stage for many.

The spark

“Saina’s performance in 2008 was probably the spark, but the 2012 medal was what really changed things from a funding perspective. Before that, we used to think it was only the Indonesians and Chinese who could medal at these big events. When Saina won, everyone had hope that if she could win one, maybe we could too,” Prannoy said.

“I don’t think there’s been one singular turning point, honestly,” Gopi Chand differed. “My winning the All England was big. Without it, the idea of the academy and the belief that Indians could win at the highest stage wouldn’t have come. Then Saina’s win was the moment Indian women started to believe they could win.”

ALSO READ | Ayush Shetty: “I would like to set my own benchmark”

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa took the Worlds bronze in 2011, snapping a 28-year drought. A year later, Saina clinched India’s maiden Olympic medal in badminton. By 2015, she had topped the world rankings — the first Indian woman to do so — and claimed the country’s first Worlds silver. Sindhu then walked through the door that had been kicked open, and Indian badminton never looked back.

Lighting the fuse: Saina Nehwal inspired a generation, clinching India’s maiden Olympic badminton medal, topping the rankings and claiming the country’s first Worlds silver.
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But medals aren’t the only measure of evolution.

“In 2008, I remember tournaments being cancelled for lack of entries. Today, we hosted an Under-17 event with 4,200 entries at the national level. The sport now needs — and has — a much larger official setup,” Gopi Chand explained.

Ayush Shetty, one of India’s most promising young talents, has seen the winds change at the grassroots. “I didn’t have the support system a 14-year-old has now when I was that age. You have physios, trainers, and everything else now. Back in my day, I didn’t know much about recovery, it was all about working hard only.”

Corporate India slowly began embracing the sport. Money came, infrastructure followed.

Sindhu, now the face of badminton rather than a kid running around in the stands, points to a support system that simply didn’t exist for her predecessors. “OGQ has been backing me since I was 14, when I was still a junior and not even on the senior circuit. That kind of support in the starting stages is very important!”

“Now BAI has its own academy in Guwahati,” BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra noted. “We have sponsors like Yonex [title sponsor of the 2026 edition]. In 2009, we had just four to five senior ranking tournaments. Now we have 30 to 32 tournaments a year across different levels. It’s a clear reflection of the sport’s popularity.”

Not every experiment survived the journey, though.

ALSO READ | “I’m not ready to give up the torch” – Prannoy isn’t planning to fade away just yet

The Indian Badminton League, later rebranded the Premier Badminton League, briefly turned the sport into a televised, commercial entity, only to buckle under the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, undone less by the lack of appetite than by a pile-up of logistics, an overcrowded international calendar, and commercial disagreements behind the scenes.

Fringe benefits: H.S. Prannoy cherishes his time as a volunteer at the 2009 Worlds. ‘Watching Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei up close propelled me for the next couple of years,’ he says.
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Government investment, however, firmed up and brought Indian badminton something 2009 never had: depth. Where the country once staked everything on a single Padukone- or Gopi Chand-shaped miracle, it now walks into a World championships with waves of match-winners. If the singles medal doesn’t come, the doubles might deliver instead.

The scale of change

That, more than anything, is the real distance between 2009 and 2026, and it has demanded 17 years of quiet, unglamorous institution-building. Real academies now stand where one man’s mortgaged house once did. A queue of contenders has replaced the single name carrying an entire nation’s hopes.

The real ambition now isn’t one champion every generation but ten players in contention at once, so that whoever wins, India wins.

Hyderabad asked the country to believe. Delhi is proof that it was right to.

Lakshya Sen with Deepika Padukone© Twitter

Lakshya Sen, the rising Indian badminton star, revealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that his coach, Prakash Padukone, had taken away his phone during his entire Olympic competition in Paris. PM Modi met and felicitated India’s Paris Olympics athletes on Independence Day at his residence, where Lakshya reflected on his experience at the Games and shared insights into the challenges and cherisable moments he encountered during his debut at the Games.

He revealed that he had long matches right from the start, which required intense focus. Despite the demands of the competition, athletes made time to socialise, often having dinner and meeting other international athletes. “It was a big thing to share a dining room with some of them,” Sen remarked, emphasising the meeting with other athletes.

He admitted, “As a first-time Olympian, I was nervous during my initial matches, especially with the pressure of performing in front of a massive crowd. However, as the tournament progressed, I regained confidence and settled into my game.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also acknowledged Sen’s performance, reminding him, “You are from ‘Devbhumi (Uttarakhand),’ and you are a celebrity now.” 

The Prime Minister’s words highlighted the pride of the nation in Sen’s achievements, even without a medal. In response, Sen shared a behind-the-scenes story, mentioning that coach Padukone took his phone during his matches to help him stay focused. “Prakash Sir had taken away my phone during the matches, and said you won’t get it until the matches are over,” Sen said.

Sen, made history as the first Indian shuttler to reach the semifinals in men’s badminton at the Olympics. He topped his group with victories over top players like Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie and compatriot HS Prannoy in the round of 16.

He also stunned Chou Tien-chen in the quarterfinals. But he fell short of bagging his maiden Olympics medal after losing to world no. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the semifinal.

Reflecting on the overall support he received, Sen expressed, “It was heartbreaking, coming so close to a win but falling short in the end.”

PM Modi then offered words of encouragement to a shuttler from Almora, stating, “It would have been great if you came back with a medal, but still, you played well. But, people watch with excitement, not just from abroad, but children in our country are inspired by how well you played in the Olympics.”

Sen concluded by expressing his determination to continue improving his game, practising hard, and serving as an inspiration to young badminton players in India.

The Indian badminton contingent did not win a single medal at the Paris Olympics 2024 with Lakshya Sen coming close but failing to win his men’s singles bronze medal match against Lee Zii Jia. Badminton legend Prakash Padukone, who was the coach and mentor of the badminton team at the Paris Olympics, was extremely disappointed with the showing and after Lakshya’s loss, he said that it was “high time the players step up and win as expected”. The comments resulted in quite a bit of criticism for Padukone with Ashwini Ponnappa coming up with a fiery reply. However, former Indian cricket team batter Sunil Gavaskar has come to Padukone’s defence. In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar said that “making excuses” has become a habit of the country and that resulted in the criticism of a legend like Padukone.

“Making excuses is where our country will win gold medals every single time, so the debate around his assessment was more about that than looking without tinted glasses at what he said,” Gavaskar wrote.

Gavaskar further added that the players have a lot of support from the government at present and he agrees with Padukone’s statement that players should take responsibility for the defeats.

“And what did he say? He said that the players today get all the backing and facilities from their Federations and the government too. Therefore, they should take responsibility for their performances too. It was a point well-made and well-articulated too, without pointing fingers at anybody.”

“Yet as it invariably happens in our country, which again is a champion at reading between so-called lines and imagining unintended poisoned arrows, we were quick to jump on him and denounce his comments rather than take the time to digest them and then come out with our comparatively uninformed views.”

“If a player is not going to take responsibility for his performance, then who is? So what wrong did he say? Some say the timing was wrong, but it’s always better to say that when a player is searching for excuses and support rather than later. Yes, he could have said that privately in the changing room, but believe me, nothing has more impact on a player than a public rebuke.”

“If he has the heart of a champion, then he will want to make the person who rebuked him eat his words. Otherwise, he will continue to flatter only to deceive,” the former Indian cricket team skipper added.

Prakash Padukone has faced a lot of criticism for his comments on badminton star Lakshya Sen’s loss against Lee Zii Jia in the men’s singles bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics 2024. India did not win a single medal in badminton at the Olympics this year with Lakshya coming close but ending fourth in his category. Padukone, who was the coach and mentor of the badminton team at the Paris Olympics, was very disappointed with the results and said that it was “high time the players step up and win as expected”. The comments garnered mixed reactions from both fans and players with Ashwini Ponnappa even coming up with a fiery reply. Olympic medallist Abhinav Bindra, who was present at the Paris Olympics 2024 as a part of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes Commission, said that he does not completely disagree with Padukone but believes that “accountability has to be collective”.

“Accountability has to be collective, and an athlete is very much part of it. So I don’t completely disagree with what Mr. Padukone said. I understand where he’s coming from, but that doesn’t mean that you have to stop spending on athletes. It’s just you have to make sure how that money is spent. Yes, you cannot always wrap your athletes in cotton wool,” Bindra said in an interview with Indian Express.

Earlier, Padukone also said that India must focus on giving mind training to its athletes so that they can learn to counter pressure situations. He suggested that there must be a system in place like it is in China, where they do not depend on one player and succeed in churning out players.

“We cannot remain satisfied just having one player. We need to focus on the next line, maybe even the third line. Like they do in cricket. You have the main team, then the ‘A’ team, then the under-19 team, under-17 team. So we need to focus. There is a lot of talent, there is absolutely no doubt but a combined effort is required,” he told reporters.

The former All England champion said India must focus on giving mind training to its athletes, so that they can learn to counter pressure situations.

He also suggested that there must be a system in place, like it is in China, where they do not depend on one player and succeed in churning out players.

“We cannot remain satisfied just having one player. We need to focus on the next line, maybe even the third line. Like they do in cricket. You have the main team, then the ‘A’ team, then the under-19 team, under-17 team. So we need to focus. There is a lot of talent, there is absolutely no doubt but a combined effort is required,” he told reporters.

“And a little bit of effort from the players also. A little more responsibility, a little more accountability. Not just ask for whatever you ask for. Once you are given that, you also have to be accountable. I think the players have to learn to take responsibility.”

In a viral rant, Prakash Padukone, the coach of the Indian badminton contingent at the Paris Olympics 2024, stated that it was “high time the players step up and win”. Padukone’s remarks came after Lakshya Sen lost the men’s bronze medal match to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia, which ended India’s hopes of clinching a badminton medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. Lakshya’s defeat came after the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, one of the favourites to win a medal, also crashed out in the quarterfinals.

Padukone stated that players should also take some responsibility. “All the support and finances needed to perform at the top level were given to the Indian players. It’s not like earlier times when our players lacked facilities and funds. So, it’s high time our players step up and win as expected,” Padukone told reporters.

Veteran shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa had issued a strong response to Padukone, saying that he shouldn’t have thrown the players under the bus.

“Disappointing to see this. If a player wins, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to take credit, and if they lose, it’s just the player’s fault?!” Ponnappa wrote in an Instagram story.

Was Prakash Padukone’s Outrage Justified?

Padukone’s rant had the internet divided. Some suggested that the former Indian shuttler did the right thing, saying that the players should indeed take the responsibility.

Meanwhile, others claimed that throwing players under the bus wasn’t the smartest thing he ever did.

However, criticising Padukone for his remarks isn’t really justified either, especially considering that whatever he said was somewhat true.

Satwiksairag and Chirag were a game up against Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Woo Yik in the men’s double quarterfinals.

However, the former world no. 1 pair squandered the advantage to make a shock exit from the men’s doubles draw.

Similarly, Lakshya Sen was in a commanding position in both, the semi-final against eventual champion Viktor Axelsen as well as the bronze medal clash against Lee.

He narrowly lost the first game to Axelsen, and led 7-0 at one point in the second game. However, some poor decision-making cost him the match.

He also won the game of the bronze medal match, before throwing the tie away in a similar fashion.

Looking at the above arguments, it is fair to say that the shuttler should indeed “pull up their socks”. 

Badminton legend and ace shuttler PV Sindhu’s mentor, Prakash Padukone believes that India have a strong chance of bagging three medals in badminton in the Paris Olympics including a hat-trick of medals for Sindhu. India has sent a seven-member badminton squad including the high-flying men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and double Olympic medallist Sindhu. Padukone said Sindhu is faring well for her historic third consecutive Olympic medal in Paris.

“That’s what we are trying and hoping for. She has worked incredibly hard for that. However, at this level, one cannot commit for sure. Her preparations have gone well, and she is playing well in practice sessions. So, in terms of preparations, everything has been very good,” he told JioCinema.

The veteran shuttler, a former All-England champion and World’s top player in his heydays elaborated that he is focusing on improving Sindhu’s tactics and strategy on the court and she has also improved a lot under his guidance.

“I am focusing on tactics and strategy on the court, on what strokes to use when, and a little to do with the mind. About nine months ago, she was a little low on confidence due to frequent coaching changes and not being able to identify what was going wrong.

“We’ve worked on her mental strength and strategy, ensuring she makes better use of the right strokes. We’ve tried to cut down on mistakes and playing percentage badminton — knowing when to attack, defend, and play safe. So it is finally all coming through, but it is yet to be found out whether she can reproduce that form during the Olympics,” said Padukone, who runs the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru.

Despite Sindhu failing to win any title so far this year, Padukone feels that her ability to shine in crunch situations will help India’s most successful woman sportspersons at the Olympics bring the best out of her. Sindhu is the only Indian woman sportsperson to win two Olympic medals, a silver at Rio in 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo.

“Definitely, she has not been at her best recently, this might reduce the pressure on her. Expectations are lower, and even reaching the quarterfinals will be seen positively. But I am looking beyond that. If she is able to reproduce the form, like what she’s doing in practice, I think she’ll do better than in past tournaments.

“The difference between players at the top is so little and it is also about handling pressure in the Olympics, and Sindhu has an advantage as she has won two Olympic medals. We keep reminding her to focus on her game, and the result will be good,” he said.

In the end, Padukone picked Rankireddy and Shetty in the men’s doubles, Sindhu in women’s singles and Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy in men’s singles as possible medal contenders.

“We have a chance in all three events: men’s singles, women’s singles and men’s doubles. The men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have been very consistent and have beaten top players. They also have a fairly good draw.

“Lakshya Sen has a tough group, but he has previously beaten his group opponents Jonatan Christie, Kevin Cordon and Julien Carraggi so it depends on his current form. It’s his first Olympics, but he shouldn’t be worrying about that and consider this as any other tournament. HS Prannoy has not been in the best form, but sometimes it could be a blessing in disguise as there is little weight of expectations and you might reach the peak now, it can go both ways.

“We are definitely contenders in these three events. Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto in women’s doubles have a challenging draw, but if they can qualify further, that will be icing on the cake,” he concluded.

Badminton matches at the Paris Olympics will begin on Saturday (July 27).

File image of Prakash Padukone.© X (Twitter)