Thomas Cup Is Result Of Consistent Performance & Evolution Of Badminton In Last Decade, Shares Aparna Popat

Indian Badminton team won its first-ever Thomas Cup title in the past 73 years on May 1 and beat 14-time champions Indonesia, making a historic achievement in men's badminton in India.

On this occasion, The Logical Indian crew interviewed Aparna Popat, two-time Olympian, nine-time women's singles national champion, and the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2005, who have seen the trajectory of badminton's journey in India in the last decade first-hand.

Many people have equated the Thomas Cup victory with the 1983 cricket World Cup moment; what are your thoughts on this?

Yes, I agree. Thomas cup in badminton is touted as the world championship as it's the only team game in an individual sport like badminton. Also, considering that we were underdogs, seeded fifth. Just like the Indian cricket team in 1983, we surpassed all expectations by winning against 14-time champions Indonesia.

For the longest time, people have been asking when will the men perform and get medals like women badminton players. This is a fitting and solid answer to those critics.

What do you think are the reasons behind India lifting the Thomas Cup this year?

One of the key factors in team championships is that every player needs to fire together in that one week. Players had to perform consistently, complementing each other.

In the last four-six months in this new season, we've had consistently good performances by the men's side internationally, and they were able to take that momentum forward into Thomas Cup. The team spirit was exemplary, and we had a solid team going in and converting their chances into victories.

As you mentioned, players have been consistently performing well this season. This points out how India has been producing good quality and quantity of players in the last decade. What factors do you think have changed significantly from back then to now?

We've always had some amount of success over the years, whether it was Prakash Padukone winning All England in 1980 or Pullela Gopichand winning it in 2001. Of course, the surge in performances since the 2010s highlights a couple of changes in Indian Badminton at the ground level.

Big tournaments started being hosted in India, including the Commonwealth Games in 2010, where Saina Nehwal won the gold medal in women's singles. We also won a gold in the women's doubles category. In Olympics 2012, Saina Nehwal won bronze, and PV Sidhu got a silver medal in the subsequent Olympics in 2016. In Tokyo 2021, again, Sindhu won the bronze medal. Badminton has been in good shape in India throughout the decade.

We have a sound system and set-up with coaches and foreign coaches for learnings from abroad to not let ourselves get restricted with just one approach. Many tournaments are being organised and hosted by India, from Commonwealth Games to World Championships, and recently, Badminton Premiere League was held. This push toward badminton has led to players and coaches seeing a potential career, and therefore they are putting in the effort to make it into something big.

There is immense support among the badminton fraternity and Badminton Association of India, Sports Authority of India, and the government has always supported our vision. When you put all of this together, the entire ecosystem is complete.

Regarding region-wise participation in badminton, it has mainly been concentrated in southern parts of India. How do you think badminton is faring among the Indian population now?

Players usually start in their local academies, and when they reach a certain level, they will shift to the two-three renowned badminton academies producing great players. It is just like when you go to school; you go to your neighbourhood and start your education. Then you go into universities outstation for better academic opportunities. This used to be the overall system previously.

But now, with more achievements and advancement of the sport, there have been newer academies set up, more infrastructure being readied with good coaches who are enthusiastic about taking it up as a career.

Where do you see badminton in the next 20 years?

Since 2011, India has medalled at every single world championship to date. We have had that sort of success, and it's not stopping anytime soon. The future of badminton is in very, very safe hands, with good coaches and players growing constantly. We have the talent, bench strength, and new opportunities, and funding from the government has been phenomenal.

Badminton is looking up. Every time I think this is the most significant achievement in the history of Badminton in India, it keeps getting better.

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