India: Badminton’s next frontier
India has always earned a good reputation among the sports promoting countries. Cricket, hockey, table tennis, and football are the most played games by the Indians. Within a short span of time, badminton has placed itself among the emerging games in India.
Though, badminton is game played by elite class, but it is widening its scope throughout the country. India has a rich history of the emergence of badminton and sees a great future in this game.
If looked at carefully, we come to understand that some Indians are playing this game just for fun, as others are playing this game for gaining a top ranking in the list of Badminton World Federation. Among the vast population of India, the majority play
badminton for recreational purposes in clubs and even outdoors, as they do not even bother to register themselves with the concerned authorities. They play without undergoing any training process from the coaches and trainers of badminton. While on the other
hand, the players who play for professional concerns take badminton as a serious game and play under the guidance of the best coaches available. They register themselves with the authorities in order to participate in the regional and national tournaments.
However, such players who take this game serious are rare in India.
According to recent surveys, the main reason that hinders badminton to be amongst the popular games of India like cricket is the playing conditions, as badminton is considered an indoor game that does not attract many of the players. People get interest
in outdoor games more than the indoors. Another reason is also the lack of proper support to the new comers in the game, as a player is put in the lime-light after he has won a major title otherwise he is left to manage on himself. This behaviour and lack
of support, manages to drag down the morale of most players. Other than this, parents usually do not allow their children to get seriously involved with badminton, as they consider it the sport too trivial and not at the same level as cricket or football on
the national and international level.
The Indian Badminton Federation has produced many stars and legends like Prakash Padukone in its history. Recently, Saina Nehwal is striving hard for the promotion of game in the country and that is why badminton has started to gain in popularity in India.
Padukone, who has won the Danish Open, Swedish Open, the All England Championships title and also a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games has given a real boost towards increasing the state of badminton inside India. He has served as a coach and has also chaired
the association with great courage. The example set by Padukone, is facilitating the scenario in India to now gradually change and casual players have started showing interest in formal badminton.
Pullela Gopichand is also working hard towards promoting badminton in India, as he follows in the footsteps of Padukone. He has made his mark in a very short span of time, as he has won 4 medals in the 1998 Commonwealth games and has also won the All England
Championships title. Saina Nehwal is also a prominent figure in the badminton world. She has become an icon for the girls to play badminton in India. Nehwal’s commitment and dedication is allowing not only men, but especially women to get inspired and get
trained for the national as well as international badminton. A time will come when India will be among the top ranked countries of the badminton arena. The country’s top players have also opened many training centres in different states for the promotion of
game among the youth of India.
India represents one of the last big frontiers for badminton. The large population and new rising middle-class are fuelling an economic rise within the country. If badminton is to gain in popularity, it will need to appeal to a wide cross section of the
Indian population. Only time will tell to see how the Indians accept badminton and participate in this growing sport.
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