There should have been more Indian shuttlers at the top now: Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal was a trailblazer for Indian badminton on the court and now she is ready to do the same off it. Nehwal has become the first women badminton star, along with Spaniard Carolina Marin, to associate with the Legends’ Vision, an ambitious project by four legends of the sport.

Envisioned by Lin Dan, Lee Chong Wei, Peter Gade and Taufik Hidayat, the vision aims to go beyond competitions, trophies and prize money and focuses on four core ambitions: enhancing junior development, enriching communities, expanding participation, and driving innovation across the sport. Now in its 10th year and returning with its Legacy Tour to India, the project has launched ‘A Racket’s Second Life’ in the country to spread the game among the less privileged kids.

Saina spoke to the The Hindu on the sidelines of the launch of the project. Excerpts:

What exactly is the Legends’ Vision and how did your association with this tour come about?

It’s a programme that has been around for 10 years but I only joined it last year. Their motto is to promote the game all over the world. And they are launching in India, for the first time ever, ‘A Racket’s Second Life’, which invites donations of used rackets for someone who cannot afford to buy. We believe that even those who don’t know much about the game will want to play and learn more about it if they get a racket in hand and start playing.

A game grows when everyone is learning and playing it regardless of the level. When I was coming up, Gopi sir gave me a racket and that meant so much for me, I wanted to prove myself worthy of it. I am sure there will be many youngsters who will think they can become something in the sport with a racket in hand.

But do you think that Indian badminton has hit a speed-breaker?

Yes, there is a little bump, especially among the girls. The boys are still doing well, Lakshya is doing extremely well. But there is a slight slide among the girls. I think everybody is different; some bodies are capable of doing extraordinary early on, others take time. Maybe in 10 years, a new kid will come along with a group who is doing well.

I think we were very lucky that way, 10-15 years back, me, (P.V.) Sindhu, (Kidambi) Srikanth, (H.S.) Prannoy, (Parupalli) Kashyap, Sai Praneeth, Guru Sai Dutt, Ajay Jayaram, all of us were doing extremely well. Every time we participated in a Super Series event, we would be confident at least one of us would win a medal.

I feel it took them some time to come into the circuit but in the last one to two years, there has been a lot of improvement from some of the girls. Unnati (Hooda) and Anmol (Kharb) are doing well. We should give them some time. Every country goes through this, including China. In Korea, earlier there were no players, now suddenly one player is dominating. We will have to wait and see how it goes.

There are two ways of developing talent – cyclical, where one generation is brilliant across the board, like yours. Then there is a gap before the next generation succeeds. The other is continuous, where the next generation is already even as the previous one is still reaching its peak, something like China. What do you think we need to do to move from the former to the latter?

Honestly, it’s a question for me too. Badminton has grown a lot in India, coaches have been coming for many years. Actually, more foreign coaches are entering now. And honestly, some more players at the top should have started by now. I think the coaches can give a better answer to where the mistakes are happening.

The players now have everything. We didn’t have trainers or physios or even enough quality coaches, there would be one looking after 40 players. Competition exposure was also less, and moreover, we didn’t have social media to be aware of what or how others were performing. It can’t be that the players don’t have the ability either; they are all very good. Maybe it’s just taking a little time. There is also impatience. People want immediate results, they are not able to stay in one place for long, they keep changing their training venues and partners seeking instant success.

Most of them are not training in a group. If you train in a group, the results will come. Every player has a different game so you get to train against different players. And you keep pushing each other. There is also competition within the group.

Girls like Akarshi (Kashyap) and Malvika (Bansod) have been playing on the circuit for 5-6 years. I don’t understand this because if you are not progressing, it’s a big question. At the same time, I have seen Unnati who has improved a lot in the last one to two years, she is playing consistently in semis and finals of Grand Prix. Tanvi (Sharma) is also playing really well. But we don’t have a 15-16 year old athlete who can go all the way.

I feel we have missed the bus somewhere. We are getting a lot of support. There are so many foundations who are supporting, along with a lot of schemes. As a player, I can only think about where a player went wrong on the court. But the ‘missing bus’ part and why it is taking so much of time, maybe coaches can answer better.

What about you getting into full-time coaching, especially now that you already have one (Kashyap) in the family?

I can see his condition. He trains from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. and everyday he is frustrated over someone or the other. Coaching is tougher than playing, you have to put so much effort and time and your entire self into it. But it’s also about passion. I will just wait and see.

I have been in sports for so many years, played at the highest level, so we have already seen so much stress. I want to be with my family for some time. My parents didn’t really do anything except be with me, now I want them to enjoy life. But you never know after three to six years, I might want to go back to the game. Now I do motivational talks and if any of the youngsters want, I try to support them, tell them to come and play.

Badminton is played by everyone but what do you think needs to be done to attract viewers?

I still feel the marketing can be much better. Both the Indian and the international federations need to do much more so that people come and watch tournaments. That is how kids will learn. When you talk about cricket or football World Cups or the tennis Grand Slams, you see the events promoted almost a year in advance and there is constant talk about it, information and promotions.

We have the World championships next year and it is the biggest event in the sport. We are also hosting it after 16 years. Given all that, I just feel that maybe we are lacking a little in pushing the tournament across the country. Those who follow closely will know but does the common public know about the event or its importance?

Published – November 23, 2025 10:44 pm IST