Sat-Chi being on top of the world can be a transformational moment in Indian badminton. We could look back at this moment in the future and say, this is the moment India became a true powerhouse in world badminton.
Without an iota of disrespect to the doubles players of yesteryears like D’sa, Gandhe, Pawar, Sanave-Rupesh, including some of the superstars of the recent past like Jwala, Diju, Ashwini, Manu, Sumeeth, I can confidently say that Sat-Chi have taken it to the next level. This is not merely the ranking I’m talking about, it is something much deeper.
Let me give you my example. I was a junior national champion in singles and doubles in 2005. I left singles once I entered seniors and started playing doubles. I was ridiculed back then and was branded “lazy” for choosing the paired event instead of the other. Many found the decision to be crazy at that time. Well, now, Gopi, the legendary coach’s daughter, has done it. And, this is exactly my point. A decade back, a decision like the one Gayatri Gopichand took, would’ve made a player lose the support of his/her long-term coach, parents, and almost all well-wishers. The player would be forced to continue singles against wishes just to be able to continue playing the sport. Coaches and parents would put relentless pressure on the player saying, “Playing doubles is equal to not playing at all. There’s no career in it. The focus should be on singles and then whatever you do in doubles is a bonus.” I still remember, I would be talking to my parents about my doubles matches and they would inevitably ask me, “All that’s fine, but what happened in singles?”
The doubles superstar of the past two decades, Jwala Gutta had a stellar doubles career. Having reached a career-high world ranking of 6 or 7 in mixed doubles with Diju (still the highest in the world for India), she won a world championship medal with Ashwini as well. But, (there was always a “but” with doubles before) she majorly had to play second fiddle in the status quo of superstardom to Saina and later on Sindhu. That is what Sat-Chi have broken. For the first time in history, the paired event is the best performing. I believe this may bring a paradigm shift in the mindset of grassroots coaches and parents. They will not be able to say, stick to singles or there’s no career in it. There is a career and it can be big in doubles, the biggest to be precise. Sat-Chi have opened the floodgates for India. Hope we get many more Sat-Chis in the future because to remain a powerhouse is a harder battle. We need every event to be filled with not one player/pair but a few world-class operators like Sat-Chi.
This is why I say, this may be the time when we look back in history and say, “You know what!! The mental bias was broken here, there was a paradigm shift, and thus, the results inevitably followed.”
