Indian badminton players won medals in London, Rio, and Tokyo, so their performance in Paris was understandably a disappointment for fans. Lakshya Sen came the closest to standing on the podium, but the 22-year-old player eventually lost both the semifinal and the bronze medal match, finishing in 4th place. This is actually a very good result in such a strong field, but the Indian coaching staff was eager to win a medal. One of the country’s most respected experts, Prakash Padukone, also expressed his disappointment after the tournament and held the players accountable.
„You can’t blame the federation and the government for the Olympic results. They did everything they could. Ultimately, it’s the players’ responsibility to perform in the most important moments. They need to ask themselves if they worked hard because these players have their own physiotherapists, and they have all the opportunities available to them. I don’t think any other country, including the USA, has so many opportunities. Maybe the players aren’t working hard enough. Maybe it’s not enough to win a medal at the Olympics. So, the players need to work harder,” said the former All England champion.
Ashwini Ponnappa, who represented India in women’s doubles this year, stood by her fellow players and fired back at Padukone.
„It’s disheartening to see this. When a player wins, everyone jumps to take credit, but when they lose, is it only the player’s fault?! Why aren’t coaches held accountable for the lack of preparation? They are the first to receive credit for victories; why don’t they take responsibility for their players’ losses as well? At the end of the day, a win is the result of teamwork, and a loss should be too. You can’t suddenly shift all the responsibility onto the player and blame them for everything,” wrote the athlete, who participated in her last Olympics, on her Instagram page.
Ponnappa’s former doubles partner, Jwala Gutta, also joined the „debate” and pointed out that while players want to share responsibility with the coaches, there has never been any talk of sharing prize money.
Ponnappa and Gutta previously won a World Championship bronze medal together, but it seems their relationship has since cooled.
Ashwini Ponnappa competed in Paris alongside Tanisha Crasto, but they failed to win a match and were eliminated in the group stage. In men’s singles, besides the aforementioned Sen, the experienced H.S. Prannoy also qualified but was knocked out by his compatriot in the round of 16. In women’s singles, Pusarla Sindhu was India’s big hope, as the world champion had reached the podium in both Rio and Tokyo. However, she was unable to repeat that success this year, losing in the round of 16 to the eventual finalist He Bing Jiao. The team’s strongest medal chance was in men’s doubles. The Rankireddy/Shetty duo – with the help of Mathias Boe, who took a break after the Olympics – had a great season last year but struggled with injuries this year. They couldn’t find their form for the Paris Olympics and lost in the quarterfinals to Aaron Chia and Soo Woi Yik.