For the love of the bird

Chennai: The Saina-Sindhu fever has found fervour in the city as everyone from impressionable teenagers to middle-aged professionals takes to the

courts

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Since the Rio Olympics last year, badminton courts have sprouted across the city and the August silver and bronze wins of P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal at the World Championships have just fuelled the passion. On weekends in particular, it’s become commonplace to see courts teeming with people of different age groups.

As M Rajesh, owner of a badminton academy in Thoraipakkam, informs, the girls’ success triggered his decision to open an academy and provide a facility for people interested. "I started my academy in October 2016 following PV Sindhu’s silver medal at the Rio Olympics. Badminton is at its peak in the country due to Sindhu and Saina and I thought it would be a good idea to open an academy. Ours was one of the first badminton academies to come up in the area and it’s become very popular now," he says, adding that he has six synthetic courts. During weekends, the place is chock-a-block with IT professionals booking the courts from 9am to 5pm.

According to the Tamil Nadu Badminton Association (TNBA), Rajesh is the founder of one of the many academies. After all, more than 30 new badminton courts have come up in Chennai in the past year, the numbers going up to the three-figure mark in the entire state.

R Narayanan, a resident of Thiruvanmiyur, started playing badminton a year ago, around the same time as the Olympics. "I used to play only on weekends, but now I play early mornings on weekdays too. I have noticed many new courts in my locality. I began mainly because it was good exercise," he says. While he began playing a year ago because it offered him a healthy distraction from his monotonous schedule, it was also also the time that a landmark event occurred in Indian badminton.

Sports goods businesses have also seen a rush in sales since August 2016. "In the past three years, we have noticed a 25% annual rise in the sale of badminton racquets. That is the industry trend as well. Before that, the annual rise was just 7%," says C K Chopda, owner of The Pavilion, a sports goods store.

"The accolades of Indian players have definitely played a role. Also, it is an easy sport to play as a pastime. It’s not like cricket or football where you need a lot of people to play," says Chopda, who adds that the ease of playing a sport like badminton also works considerably to its advantage.

The larger question now is whether this new-found interest in the sport can spur young players to emulate the likes of Sindhu and Saina. Judging by the numbers at the grassroots level, there is cause for optimism.

TNBA joint secretary U Rajmohan reveals there have been as many as 2,000 new entries in the 13 to 15 age category over the course of the past year, which used to see only around 500 entrants a year. "There has been a sudden increase in the number of players. We have had to restrict participation because we cannot handle such huge numbers," says Rajmohan.

While the rise in numbers is encouraging, Rajmohan concedes that coaching is an area where they are lagging behind. "Coaching is not up to the mark. Only now, the number and standard of courts has improved. There are many coaches available but the quality is lacking," he says.

Among the young talent in the state, Rajmohan is enthused about the prospects of Madurai’s V S Varshini, who recently won the nationals at the Under-15 level. "Varshini is a promising talent. She won the U-15 nationals and is heading for an Asian event. There is also R Karan Rajan, who won a trophy in Thailand," says Rajmohan.

International champions in badminton from the state might seem a far-fetched ambition for now, but there are encouraging signs that the state can at least attempt to produce talent of its own in the time to come.