The qualifying period for Rio 2016 came to an end on Thursday with the Badmiunton World Federation(BWF) website releasing the updated rankings for the last week.
A total of seven Indian shutters have made the cut for Rio 2016 with two in the Women’s Singles categories- Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu.
The former finished in 8th place in the rankings while the latter finished in 10th place and a lot will most certainly depend on these two if India are to comeback with a medal in badminton from Rio De Janerio.
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Saina Nehwal – A ride that began well but lost track
Between 4th of May 2015 and the 1st of May 2016, Saina Nehwal competed in several tournaments. Some extremely positive results at the start certainly gave cheer to many supporters, but once the injries started to creep in, it had a consequent impact on her performances.
A runners-up finish at the World Championships and the China Super Series were followed by preliminary round exit at the Dubai Super Series Finals meant that while that the year didn’t end on as positive a note as she would have liked.
2016 also didn’t start off on a good note for the Indian as ijuries kept her out of action but ever since her return at the All England Open, the 26-year-old has seen been eliminated in 4 consecutive semifinals in 4 competitions.
Her next challenge is the Thomas and Uber Cup and she will hope to put forth yet another good performance and further boost her confidence.
PV Sindhu – Largely disappointing with a few bright spots
PV Sindhu will look back at the last 12 months and will disappointed with her results. A runner-up finish at the Denmark Open was preceded and succeeded by many opening round exits and a third consecutive Macau Open title at the end of 2015 provided some balm to the wounds.
2016 began on a positive note for the Indian with a triumph at the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold, but the optimism soon faded away.
The upcoming few months will be crucial for the Indian as she builds up to her maiden Olympics and she would hope to gain few more points to try and avoid a tough draw at Rio 2016.
