Ajay Jayaram’s recent success underscores greater depth in Indian badminton

Ajay Jayaram

Saina Nehwal has been the poster girl of Indian badminton for several years now. The convergence of her path with Pullela Gopichand’s turned into a fortuitous union for badminton in India. The two high profile athletes helped fuel badminton into a new orbit with their successes as player and coach. The relationship helped badminton enter the mainstream of India’s sporting consciousness.

As is seen with the recent successes of players such as Ajay Jayaram, Ashwini Ponappa and Jwala Gutta – there is more to Indian badminton than the starry academy in Hyderabad.When the relationship between Saina and Gopichand turned sour in 2010, there were a few clouds around the sustainability of the grand vision for the sport in India.

But this cloud too presented a silver lining to the sport. It appears that Saina’s departure from the famed academy in Hyderabad, has paved the way for an era of deepening badminton resources from around the country.

It is a year since Saina decided to shift base to Bengaluru to learn under the tutelage of Vimal Kumar, after nearly a decade of learning under the astute eyes of Gopi. The results have been sensational – Nehwal has become the world No.1 through a string of good results, including runner-up finishes at the All England and World Championships. In fact, Saina hasn’t lost before a quarterfinal in 13 tournaments since September last year.

Over a decade ago, Pullela Gopichand was running pillar to post, searching for the funds and land needed to translate his vision into reality. Just around the same time, Harvir Singh was traveling with his teenaged daughter who was beginning to show precocious skills against players much older than her.

Saina’s transition from SM Arif to Gopi helped her career, just as it helped the later gain credence as a coach.It was a symbiotic relationship that nurtured Saina’s aspirations as a player and Gopichand’s desire to create a world class badminton academy.

But as the number of wards grew in number, the coach had no option but to divide him time among them. After all he was also developing the talents of international players such as Parupalli Kashyap, P V Sindu, R M V Guru Sai Dutt and Srikanth Kidambi.

Saina has always been an ambitious athlete and in seeking the intervention of SAI in 2011 for assigning Bhaskar Babu underlined her boldness and the hunger for success. While voyeuristic public might wish to pursue juicy rumours, in reality the essential reason for divergence between Gopi and Saina could be no more than professional differences.

Saina has always demanded more of herself and she wanted a coach who could dedicate resources to her development without dilution. Her arrangement with Babu barely lasted, with Saina having to express regret and return under the wings of her former mentor.

But the glass had cracked and the association was more about convenience and lacked the conviction of the early stages of Saina’s career. The Olympic bronze in London 2012 did help to assuage some concerns but injuries and inconsistent performances kept the duo in a constant state of discontent with each other.

The final straw came in the form of a few conversations between Vimal and Saina during the Uber Cup in May 2014. World No.9 at the time, she picked Vimal’s brains and began to relate to the insights offered by the experienced man. When she won the Australian Open Super Series title in June, her first since 2012, Saina was convinced that she had to make the switch.

Since moving to the Prakash Padukone academy in Bengaluru, Saina has risen up the ranks and shown the kind of consistency that augurs well for her ambitions for the Rio Olympics next year. It is a move that has also eased some of the attention that was beginning to strangulate the Pullela Gopichand academy in Hyderabad.

Ajay Jayaram seems to be a man on a mission. The Olympics is round the corner and competition is heating up for places on the flight to Rio. In reaching the finals of the Korea Open Super Series and defending the Dutch Open title, Ajay has showcased the growing strength of badminton in India.

All of this points to a trend of democratization that augurs well for the sport in India. Ajay trains under Tom John, also in Bengaluru.There is no question that Gopichand laid the foundation for a brave new era for badminton in our country. But we need several more coaches and facilities to gain from the momentum and build a sustainable pipeline of players for the future.

In branching out from the academy, Saina had taken a bold step at a critical juncture in her career. It is a decision that could spin off the ambitions of coaches and players outside the clearly supreme academy in Hyderabad. It could also spawn several new relationships with an aspiration for international success, keeping Indian badminton healthy for years to come.