The criticism that India concentrated all its efforts on badminton singles players had some merit 15 years ago. But there was no option. For the sport to take off like it did and the trickle-down to even begin, Saina Nehwal needed to succeed at the top level. So, all attention was geared towards the singles flock courting success.
The cribbing over doubles being ignored was justified – no country can even begin to whisper ‘powerhouse’ if three out of five categories remain unattended, and team events like Thomas & Uber Cup and Sudirman and Asian Mixed team events draw blanks. But pathways and executing plans in propping up doubles never really happened. Perhaps it is from these bombardings of constant criticisms from 2006-2014 that Pullela Gopichand’s brain crystallised the resolve to make doubles work.
