Data check: Saina, Sindhu and Sameer the only bright spots in a dull year for Indian badminton

Editor’s note: This article has been updated after the BWF World Tour Finals 2018, in which PV Sindhu won the title and Sameer Verma reached the semi-finals.

India’s singles shuttlers have had a difficult 2018 season, to say the least. While Indian badminton overall reached unprecedented heights by winning the team gold medal at the Commonwealth Games for the first time, the performances in individual tournaments have been far from pleasing, at least compared with 2017.

Saina Nehwal and Sameer Verma are the only two Indian shuttlers ranked in the world’s top 30 who have won titles this year. While PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth have been consistent in reaching the later stages of tournaments, one more than the other, the gold medal has remained elusive.

Here is a look at how India’s best singles shuttlers have performed in 2018:

Saina Nehwal

After reaching four finals, one that resulted in a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, Saina Nehwal can probably afford to put her feet up and sit for a few days at the end of the 2018 season. In 2017, she was just about making her way back to the top after recovering from a knee injury that had ruined the second half of 2016. In 2018, it’s safe to say Saina Nehwal is back.

Nehwal had a great start to the season, reaching the final of the Indonesia Masters – a Super 500-level tournament – in January, where she lost to world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying. Nehwal would end up losing to the incredible Tai Tzu five more times this year, including the final of the Denmark Open (Super 750) and semi-finals of the Asian Games.

Beating PV Sindhu at Gold Coast in the Commonwealth Games gold-medal match in April would have done her confidence real good but Nehwal failed to win any title after that. She was expected to win the Syed Modi International – a Super 300-level tournament – as the top seed after the withdrawal of Sindhu but ended up losing to 19-year-old Chinese Han Yue in straight games in the final.

It was a rather unexpected and disappointing way to end what’s been a decent season for the former world No 1.

PV Sindhu

PV Sindhu headed into the year-ending BWF World Tour Finals with defeats in all five tournament finals she contested in 2018, including the world championship, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. With appearances in five finals, two semi-finals and six quarter-finals, it would have been quite harsh to say she had a bad year. But the inability to win any of those finals ruined her chart somewhat.

Sindhu set that record straight in Guangzhou, going undefeated all the way to winning the title. She beat the likes of defending champion Akane Yamaguchi, world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying, her conqueror in the India Open final Zhang Beiwen, former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, and finally, 2017 world champion Nozomi Okuhara in the title clash. Sindhu lost only one game – to Tai Tzu – in these five matches to end her season with a bang, and the biggest title of her career so far. She showed incredible patience and composure in Guangzhou, traits that were somewhat lacking earlier on in the season.

Sindhu would do well to concentrate on winning the two big tournaments of the year – the All England Open and the world championships – even as the run-up for the Tokyo Olympics officially begins next season.

Kidambi Srikanth

Yet another shuttler who has been undone by the highs he touched last season. With four Superseries title wins in 2017, Srikanth was always going to find it difficult to match that effort in 2018. However, not many would have expected him to reach just one final in 2018. Srikanth should have won that final, against Lee Chong Wei at the Commonwealth Games, after beating the legendary shuttler earlier in the team event. But a three-game defeat in the gold-medal match just turned the trajectory of Srikanth’s season graph.

Srikanth did reach world No 1 for a brief period in the first half of the year but wasn’t really able to live up to the mantle. He lost to Kento Momota, who would replace him as world No 1, as many as five times this season, even as the Japanese went on to win the world championships. Those five defeats wouldn’t have done Srikanth’s confidence any good as he failed to go past the quarter-finals as many as 11 times in the season out of the 14 tournaments he played in. A few niggles after the Commonwealth Games did not help, as Srikanth never really managed to get into his stride in 2018. The focus, in the off-season, would be to get his fitness back ahead of an important pre-Olympic year.

HS Prannoy

Another shuttler affected by injuries this season, HS Prannoy will want to forget 2018 as quickly as possible. He started off well, reaching the quarter-finals of the All England Open and winning the bronze at the Badminton Asia Championships. However, Prannoy’s season derailed following the Thomas and Uber Cup in May, where he led a depleted men’s team that failed to reach the quarters.

Prannoy reached the quarter-finals of only one tournament after that – at the Indonesia Open in July – as he went on a disappointing run of early exits. Unlike Srikanth, he did not lose to the world’s best all the time. His conquerors in the second half of the season included Sony Dwi Kuncoro (current world rank 60), Ygor Coelho (WR 43), Kantaphon Wangcharoen (WR 17), and Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo (WR 100). Not the kind of results you expect from someone who was ranked as high as world No 8 earlier this year.

Prannoy later revealed on social media that he has been struggling with breathing problems on court since July, which explains his run. He has vowed to come back stronger in 2019.

Sameer Verma

With three titles from three finals, Sameer Verma’s conversion rate is unmatched among Indian shuttlers this year. After struggling with injuries last year, a fit Sameer played as many as 18 tournaments (not counting team events) in 2018 and ended his season on a high by qualifying for the BWF World Tour Finals – the only Indian to do so apart from Sindhu.

Sameer did better than most would have expected of him in Guangzhou, reaching the semi-finals from his group. He only lost to Kento Momota – after giving the world champion a good fight – in his group. He then gave All England champion Shi Yuqi a good run for his money in the semi-finals, taking him to three games, but could not go the distance. Despite the loss, Sameer would be very satisfied with how this season has gone.

Sameer’s year got off to a great start as he won the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament, beating a rising Momota on the way. He would probably be disappointed he wasn’t able to do well in big tournaments such as the Thomas Cup and the world championships. In fact, he failed to get past the quarter-finals of tournaments at the level of Super 500 and above, except the World Tour Finals of course.

Out of the 18 tournaments he played on the BWF World Tour this year, six were at the Super 300 level or below, including the ones where he won his three titles – the Swiss Open (Super 300), the Hyderabad Open (Super 100), and the Syed Modi Open (Super 300). After a successful year in the second tier, Indian fans would be hoping Sameer makes the jump and starts performing well in Super 500 and above.

Sai Praneeth

Another Indian shuttler who will want to forget 2018 as soon as possible. Ten exits before the quarter-finals out of 15 tournaments played says it all, really. After winning his first Superseries title last year, at the Singapore Open, Sai Praneeth has found the going tough in 2018. He too has been affected by a few niggles through the season but after being ranked as high as 12th in the world earlier this year, he would have expected better from himself.

Sai Praneeth did play only four tournaments of the level Super 300 or below this year but after winning two titles out of three finals (one Superseries and two Grands Prix Gold) last year, 2018 was sure a disappointment for him.