WINNERS LOSE: Baddy duo out of Tokyo Olympics on points
Day 4
My View
Of Heartbreaks And Lessons
The Indian campaign is getting over at Tokyo Olympics in fast forward with expected defeats being teamed up with unexpected heartbreaks.
Today’s heartbreak was Chirag Shetty and Satwik Reddy, the badminton doubles duo who won the final game of the league stage with 21-17, 21-19 against Great Britain – only to be told they are out of the quarterfinal race despite winning 2 and losing one match like all other teams in the group.
That’s a shame, the points conundrum will be like an axe on a billion hopes that were hanging in there with their dazzling display on the Olympic court.
To India’s shock, the Chinese Taipei pair which they had defeated turned to be master slayers, defeating the top-seeded Indonesian pair. This brought India, Chinese Taipei and Indonesia on equal number of wins and losses. This meant, the points counting would come into play – the first two teams to go through the quarter finals with maximum number of games won in the three matches.
As it turns out, India won four games in total while Chinese Taipei and Indonesia won 5 each. Unlucky to have lost out this way but those are the rules of the game here.
The good that the due brought to India was the fact that a Men’s double pair from India would’ve reached the quarter finals of an Olympics platform for the first time. This gives the churners at the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad the gumption to put in some more fuel to churn out wholesome products for future big stage games.
Indian badminton today is a rising sport and the Reddy-Shetty pair is the torchbearer in the Men’s section. However, singular dependence on PV Sindhu is something that will surely be feeling the need to look for variety.
The bad thing about the Olympics is, it rarely gives second chances to players, comes as it is in a gap of four years by which time the players who almost reach the pedestal may have retired, aged, become unfit or lost the zen to win on the ultimate stage by the time the Olympics return.
Shetty and Reddy are young still. What should steer them now is victories in most global summits which happen annually in the run up to the Olympics, now in 2025. This will keep up their spirit, practice, strength and playing acumen, not to mention their chances at the ultimate stage of performance.