Lakshya Sen’s devastating loss to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics reaffirmed India’s badminton team’s failure to capture a medal.
Following the loss, India’s badminton legend Prakash Padukone, the team’s coach and mentor, declared that it was “high time the players step up and win”. “The Indian players received all of the necessary support and funds to succeed at the highest level. It is not like before, when our players lacked facilities and cash. So, it’s time for our guys to step up and win as expected,” Padukone told media after Lakshya Sen lost his bronze medal match.
Aside from Sen’s amazing performance, which saw him become the first Indian shuttler to reach the men’s singles semifinals, the remainder of the field fared poorly.
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‘Not a single medal despite necessary support’: Padukone
“I am a little disappointed in our performance that we could not even get a single medal from Badminton. Like I have said before, we were contenders for three medals so at least one would have made me happy. But having said this, this time the Government, Sports Authority of India, and Sports Ministry everybody has done their best and I don’t think anyone could have done anything more than what the Government has done so I think the players also need to take responsibility,” added the veteran.
‘We must have a system like China’
The former All England champion believes India should emphasize on mental preparation for its athletes so that they may learn to deal with intense circumstances.
He also advised that a structure be put in place, similar to what exists in China, where they do not rely on a single player and are successful in producing players.
“We cannot be satisfied with only one player. We need to concentrate on the next line, or even the third. As they do in cricket. The primary team is followed by the ‘A’ squad, then the under-19 team, and finally the under-17 team. So we need to concentrate. There is a lot of skill, no doubt, but a team effort is essential,” he told reporters.
