The facilities provided to badminton players in India have improved drastically and if the players can believe in themselves that the country can dominate the sport for a long time like China and Japan, star badminton player Saina Nehwal has said. PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth also echoed her words and said that the future of the sport in India looks bright.
“We would like to thank the government and the Sports Minister for their continued support throughout the year. Sports is becoming quite popular in our country because of the encouragement from the government,” Saina said.
“The facilities have improved and we shuttlers need to believe in ourselves. If that happens we can come stronger and rule the sport like China, Japan and Korea,” she added.
The three players represented India at the World Badminton Championships 2017 in Glasgow and while Nehwal won a bronze medal, Sindhu took home a silver medal from the women’s singles event. Srikanth bowed out of the tournament from the qaurter-final stage.
Sindhu said that the sport has grown in India and many youngsters have taken it up. Talking about her marathon final match against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara, Sindhu said that she had never played a match it.
“Badminton in India as a sport has grown many folds. Many upcoming and bright players are coming up,” Sindhu said. “The World Championships final is one of the longest match I have ever played. At 20-20 in the last game it was anybody’s game but in the end, it was not my day,” she said.
Srikanth said that a sportsperson should be recognized and the government is doing it for the badminton players of India.
Monks sit on a stage next to portraits of tsunami victims as people take part in an interfaith ceremony at the Ban Nam Khem Tsunami Memorial Park in southern Thai province of Phang Nga on December 26, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Shai Guy