<p>An ace shuttler’s struggle for success and a teenager’s promising start highlighted the Indian badminton scene in the last 12 months even as the Chinese shuttlers once again flexed their muscles to fly home with a handful of major trophies.<br /><br />Saina Nehwal failed to live up to the expectations but Pusarla Venkata Sindhu made a strong statement as the shuttler for the future. Also demanding attention was the experienced pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa who claimed a historic bronze at the World Championships.<br /><br />After hitting a purple patch in 2010, when she took home three Super Series titles — Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong — besides the Commonwealth Games gold, the 21-year-old Saina had a lean patch this year, mainly because of a ligament injury on her right ankle, and a dip in form. Saina could add only the Swiss Grand Prix Gold to her trophy cabinet, faltering in the summit rounds in Malaysia and Indonesia Super Series as well as the season-ending Super Series Finals. It seemed the Hyderabadi would end the year on a high but once again she couldn’t find a way to breach the Chinese Wall, going down to world number one Wang Yihan for the fourth time in her career in the final.<br /><br />“It’s not that I played badly this year, it happens sometimes when you play at the highest level. Overall, I am happy with my performance and entering the final of Super Series Finals was a big confidence booster for me,” said Saina.<br /><br />Saina’s split with her coach and mentor Pullela Gopichand in April didn’t help matters though she settled her differences within two months. Despite her struggles, Saina managed to stay at world number four (as on December 21), behind three Wangs from China — Yihan, Shixian, and Xin. With the Olympic Games fast approaching, Saina will have to shed her inconsistency if she hopes to fulfill her dream of a podium finish in London.<br /><br />The 16-year-old Sindhu picked up three international crowns — Indonesia International Challenge, Swiss International and Maldives International Challenge — to crack into top-50. Considering that she started the year at a lowly 151, her ranking of 42 was a creditable achievement. There was also a heartening display from Ashwini and Jwala at the World Championships in London where the doubles pair won the bronze.<br /><br />While the women brought some cheer, the performances of the men shuttlers remained disappointing. P Kashyap was the top Indian male shuttler with a world ranking of 26 and close on his heels was Ajay Jayaram, ranked 29. Ajay had a dream run at the Worlds before bowing out in the quarterfinals. Injury woes and loss of form saw seasoned campaigners Chetan Anand (56), Arvind Bhat (57) and Anup Sridhar (87) slip on the rankings front.<br /><br />In mixed doubles, Jwala and V Diju also slumped to No 19 mainly due to the latter's back surgery that kept him out of action for a long time. Looking at the international scene, Malaysian Lee Chong Wei extended his reign at the top while he continued his rivalry with the world number two Lin Dan of China. Dan, known as Super Dan, claimed the World title beating his nemesis but Lee had his revenge in the All England final.</p>
<p>An ace shuttler’s struggle for success and a teenager’s promising start highlighted the Indian badminton scene in the last 12 months even as the Chinese shuttlers once again flexed their muscles to fly home with a handful of major trophies.<br /><br />Saina Nehwal failed to live up to the expectations but Pusarla Venkata Sindhu made a strong statement as the shuttler for the future. Also demanding attention was the experienced pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa who claimed a historic bronze at the World Championships.<br /><br />After hitting a purple patch in 2010, when she took home three Super Series titles — Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong — besides the Commonwealth Games gold, the 21-year-old Saina had a lean patch this year, mainly because of a ligament injury on her right ankle, and a dip in form. Saina could add only the Swiss Grand Prix Gold to her trophy cabinet, faltering in the summit rounds in Malaysia and Indonesia Super Series as well as the season-ending Super Series Finals. It seemed the Hyderabadi would end the year on a high but once again she couldn’t find a way to breach the Chinese Wall, going down to world number one Wang Yihan for the fourth time in her career in the final.<br /><br />“It’s not that I played badly this year, it happens sometimes when you play at the highest level. Overall, I am happy with my performance and entering the final of Super Series Finals was a big confidence booster for me,” said Saina.<br /><br />Saina’s split with her coach and mentor Pullela Gopichand in April didn’t help matters though she settled her differences within two months. Despite her struggles, Saina managed to stay at world number four (as on December 21), behind three Wangs from China — Yihan, Shixian, and Xin. With the Olympic Games fast approaching, Saina will have to shed her inconsistency if she hopes to fulfill her dream of a podium finish in London.<br /><br />The 16-year-old Sindhu picked up three international crowns — Indonesia International Challenge, Swiss International and Maldives International Challenge — to crack into top-50. Considering that she started the year at a lowly 151, her ranking of 42 was a creditable achievement. There was also a heartening display from Ashwini and Jwala at the World Championships in London where the doubles pair won the bronze.<br /><br />While the women brought some cheer, the performances of the men shuttlers remained disappointing. P Kashyap was the top Indian male shuttler with a world ranking of 26 and close on his heels was Ajay Jayaram, ranked 29. Ajay had a dream run at the Worlds before bowing out in the quarterfinals. Injury woes and loss of form saw seasoned campaigners Chetan Anand (56), Arvind Bhat (57) and Anup Sridhar (87) slip on the rankings front.<br /><br />In mixed doubles, Jwala and V Diju also slumped to No 19 mainly due to the latter's back surgery that kept him out of action for a long time. Looking at the international scene, Malaysian Lee Chong Wei extended his reign at the top while he continued his rivalry with the world number two Lin Dan of China. Dan, known as Super Dan, claimed the World title beating his nemesis but Lee had his revenge in the All England final.</p>
