Haryana – the newest nursery for India’s champion women shuttlers
Haryana – the newest nursery for India’s champion women shuttlers
Haryana accounts for a lion’s share of India’s Olympians and Olympic medallists. At Paris 2024, nearly one in four Olympians was from the State and four of five individual medallists.
A principal reason is widespread grassroots-level sporting participation, and the latest discipline in Haryana to see high levels of involvement is badminton.
Saina Nehwal, the pioneering badminton star who won bronze at London 2012, hails from Haryana, but she trained in Hyderabad. There are now a clutch of formidable players, including Anmol Kharb – who, as a 17-year-old, helped India women win their first Badminton Asia title in 2024 – and Unnati Hooda, who have had their games shaped in Haryana.
The evidence was at the recently concluded Senior National Badminton Championship here, where Haryana won its first-ever women’s team championship gold. Devika Sihag, then, lifted the women’s singles title, making it a hat-trick for her State after Anmol triumphed in 2023 and Anupama Upadhyaya in 2022.
“The associations are now active, and there are more ranking tournaments in North India, unlike earlier times when a majority would be in Bangalore and Hyderabad,” said Harender Singh Malik, a coach at the Malik Badminton Academy in Sonepat. “Private academies are also getting involved, which means there is more one-on-one focus and individual training”.
Five of Harender’s wards were part of the trophy-winning Haryana team. “In places like Rohtak, Sonepat, there was a focus on kabaddi, wrestling. But now, parents are also thinking of badminton,” he said. “As a non-contact sport, it is safer, and also allows you to have a good education. When players increase, coaches increase, and results follow”.
Ravikant Singla, a travelling coach with the Haryana outfit, felt that Saina’s ascent has had a ripple effect. “All the girls who started badminton in Haryana did it after watching Saina,” he said.
“Some parents, after watching movies like Dangal, were confident that their children could also do well. And many of them have chosen an indoor sport like badminton. In fact, when we came to Bengaluru, we were 99% sure of winning the team gold”.
The hope is now for these budding players to consistently excel internationally. “Winners of Nationals cannot be role models; they can be for their centres, academies, maybe districts,” opined Harender.
“Now, we have to convert this into success at the world level. In Haryana, we are still focused on results and not business. All medallists in wrestling from India are from Haryana. We are hoping for the same in badminton”.
