Jaipur: Players from Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) and Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) have dominated the national tournaments for years now. In the last two decades, most titles in sub-junior ranking tournaments were claimed by either PGBA or PPBA shuttlers.
However, a major change seems to be happening in India’s badminton scenario. Smaller centres/academies with limited resources have started challenging players from the formidable academies and beating them.
In the All India Sub-Junior (Under-15 and Under-17) Ranking tournament, which concluded at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday, not a single title was won by powerhouses of Indian badminton. All the 10 titles were claimed by non-PGBA and PPBA shuttlers. More than 30 players were in action on the ninth and last day of the competition, and barring a couple of players, all finalists were from smaller academies.
Just like cricket, badminton is witnessing a huge shift in talent catchment areas beyond Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Around two-three decades ago, most of the Indian cricket team’s players came from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore or other big centres. Now, several cricketers from smaller towns are making the cut.
Dev Ruparelia, the U-17 boys’ singles winner here, hails from Palghar, a town in the Konkan division of Maharashtra. The top seed defeated Jagsher Singh Khangurra 21-18, 21-14 in the final. Eighth seed Jagsher belongs to Punjab and trains under former Indian shuttler Akshit Mahajan.
“I started with Nitesh Badminton Academy in Palghar and stuck with it despite getting regular offers from the big centres. I train for nearly eight hours a day and am happy with the results. I don’t have any plans to shift anywhere as I get the best coaching in my hometown,” said Dev, who is ranked No. 2 in the U-17 boys singles. The promising shuttler has represented the junior India team twice.
Similarly, Parul Choudhary, the champion in the U-17 girls’ singles, hails from Churu, a city in the desert region of Rajasthan. The India No. 3 trains in Gurgaon under coach Manish Sharma. The southpaw won back-to-back titles after she pocketed her maiden crown in the last All India ranking tournament in Vijayawada.
“I get personal attention from my coaches. In the last one year or so, I have improved a lot and also became the first Rajasthani player to represent the junior Indian team. I want to achieve results in the U-19 as well as the women’s singles in the future,” said Parul, a niece of Paralympic javelin legend Devendra Jhajharia.
Parul’s coach Manish Sharma admitted that the domination of big centres is slowly getting over and it’s a good sign that the game is growing rapidly in remote places.
“Parents now want their kids to train individually rather than in a big bunch of players. Players and parents have now realised that one-to-one coaching is the need of the hour. We train Parul individually with a set of coaches and support staff. Several players of PGBA and PPBA have left them. Some of them have joined BAI’s National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati,” said Sharma.
A senior BAI official said he is pleased with the results of the Jaipur tournament because it marked the beginning of a paradigm shift in national badminton. “The positive side of it is that we are no longer dependent on the two big centres. Now, the smaller academies are producing winners and coming out of the shadows of powerful academies. It will ultimately benefit Indian badminton,” said the BAI official.
