Indian badminton is growing by leaps and bounds and 2016 has been a year for Indian shuttlers. We start with PV Sindhu who finished with a silver medal in a thrilling final in the women’s singles encounter in the Rio Olympics. Currently World No. 10, she is taking the badminton world by storm.
Srikanth Kidambi also had a dazzling show at Rio, exceeding expectations by entering the quarter-finals of the men’s singles draw. Kidambi is currently ranked World No. 13. A certain Sameer Verma also had a stellar season, beating the World No. 3, Jan O Jorgensen at the Hong Kong Open. HS Prannoy won the Swiss Open in March, and is currently ranked 29th in the world.
There is also the 19-year-old Ruthvika Shivani who won the Russian Open this year and broke into the top 50 in the world. Saina Nehwal, currently the World No. 9, is also coming back stronger from a knee injury. Amidst all this, former Indian badminton great Pullela Gopichand must also be given due credit for it is at his academy where much of these great talents have flourished.