Taming the dragon

Who would’ve thought the tide would shift so dramatically. Within a year of winning four of five titles at the World Championships, badminton’s strongest power China look a shadow of themselves.

When the 18th World Badminton Championships begin in Paris on August 23, the Chinese will be without their customary swagger. In an extraordinary admission in the run-up to the Worlds, their legendary chief coach surmised that his team stood little chance of dominating the event as they had done previously.

“Of course I always want all five (gold medals). But this time we have to be less optimistic,” Li Yongbo told the press. “It is impossible to even match last year’s four wins.”

This must be the first time an incumbent Chinese coach has admitted to team weakness. Yongbo even hinted that only his team’s mascot, Lin Dan, was a favourite for the gold. A couple of developments led to this situation. The Chinese decided to concentrate on their domestic league and pulled out their top players from several Super Series events. Apparently, there was greater money to be made winning domestic tournaments than the international ones. Given their hectic domestic schedule, the players arrived less than match fit at international events. There has also been talk that, following the Beijing Games, the government was not keen on spending public money on sports, particularly badminton.

There is thus a feeling of change in the air as the World Championships approaches. The last two decades of badminton has been mostly a China story, with sprinklings of Denmark, Indonesia, Malaysia and a couple of others.

But Paris might well define the direction of the next decade of world badminton. Already the junior events have left China’s grasp — at the Youth Olympics and the World Junior Championships, none of the singles titles went to China. Instead, it was Thailand that emerged the unexpected powerhouse.

Leading the assault for the rest of the world will be India’s Saina Nehwal. The world No.2’s three titles in July pits her as the player to beat. The path looks smooth until the quarterfinals, where she might play the dogged retriever Wang Shixian, perhaps China’s biggest future prospect.  Compatriot Aditi Mutatkar is unlucky to draw top Japanese and tenth seed Eriko Hirose up first; the girl from Pune might fancy her chances for she has a never-say-die spirit.

Compared to Saina, the attention on the other Indians in the top-ten — V Diju and Jwala Gutta — has been negligible. The two had a fabulous last season, although their form this year has been patchy.  Seeded No.9, they have a tough opener against England’s Chris Adcock/ Gabby White. If they progress, they have a relatively easier second round draw. Third seeds Robert Mateusiak/ Nadiezda Kostiuczvk are seeded to meet them in the third round.

The Indian pair has a fair shot at making the quarterfinals. The other Indians — Chetan Anand (No.14), P Kashyap, Rupesh Kumar/ Sanave Thomas (men’s doubles, No.15) and Jwala/ Ashwini Ponnappa (women’s doubles, No.16) — are no pushovers either.

Meanwhile, Lin Dan will be eyeing his fourth successive World Championships title. Lin is already without an equal in the history of badminton — with three World Championships, an Olympic gold and four All England crowns — besides a vast number of other titles — his place in history is secure. As his coach Li Yongbo observed, his only rival is himself.