'We should be looking at 2020 Thomas, Uber Cup'

Chief coach at the Padukone Academy and former national coach Vimal Kumar tells Vivek Phadnis that Indian badminton is in reasonably good shape.

How healthy is Indian badminton at the moment?
It is very good and looking up. If you look at the nationals, the champions are all new and young. That is a good sign. There are quite a few players in men’s singles and there is depth. What we need is more doubles combinations. That is where we are lacking. The women’s singles is slightly weak but Sindhu is a good bet. Women’s doubles has made some progress with Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala Gutta teaming up. There is also Prajakta Sawant and Pradnya Gadre. There are some under-15 and 17 girls who are good. If they are nurtured properly, they have a good chance. We should be looking at the 2020 Thomas and Uber Cup.

How can we produce better doubles pairs?
We need a lot of fast and multi-feed sessions while training. There are different workouts as doubles involves a lot of fast attacks. We currently have no expertise in doubles.

What we could do is rope in the services of retired players. We have always depended on foreigners but instead, we can groom former internationals to be coaches. But again, this needs planning. The former internationals may not come to camps because they do not get paid. The other thing is that we need dedication from coaches. They should come in only if they have the passion. They should be prepared for sacrifices like they would have done in their playing days. But for that, incentives are needed and they are not getting that now.

How can we capitalise on the current success and take it to the next level?
It depends on how efficient the administration is. We need to plan better, and it should be done soon. There are a lot more players taking to badminton due to the success of Saina, Jwala and Ashwini. They have propped up the game in the country. But there is a long way to go.
There has been a lot of support from the ministry for the Commonwealth Games. They used to send the players out a lot. The young players got exposure and they will not be in awe. Players below the age of 20 need a lot of exposure.

You firmly believe that it is the fire within that sets players apart…
You need to have that drive from within. Many players are content with reaching the top 20 or 25 ranking in the world. If the hunger is not there, the best of coaches can’t help. The player has to take charge. When you lose, you should take the responsibility but that does not happen. That trend has to change. Drive and passion will take you to the next stage. But if you get carried away with little achievements, then there is a problem. It happens in Indian sport. Youngsters should have that fierce drive and capitalise on the exposure and support they get. A lot of countries are going through a difficult phase. But Japan, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Bulgaria, France and India are trying hard to improve, but we should not get carried away by a little success. This should be constantly drilled into players’ heads.