The final lap of qualification for the prestigious BWF World Tour Finals 2024 has commenced at the Hylo Open (October 29 to November 3), the first of four remaining World Tour events that will determine the coveted spots for the season finale.
As the calendar narrows, a critical question for Indian badminton looms: Where do the Indian shuttlers stand in this race to the BWF World Tour Finals 2024 rankings, scheduled in Hangzhou, China, from December 11-15?
Is there a chance to cease India’s one year hiatus of qualification for the event, the richest badminton tournament in the world with a prize purse of $2.5 million?
Since its inception in 2008 – formerly known as the BWF Super Series Finals, Indian shuttlers have had a consistent presence in this prestigious tournament.
However, 2023 marked a barren spell, with no Indian shuttlers qualifying for the Finals – a situation unseen since 2010.
Saina and Sindhu – the trailblazers
Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, with the most appearances by any Indian at the BWF World Tour Finals, have been the enduring symbols of India’s strength in women’s singles over the years.
Saina and Sindhu – the trailblazers of Indian women’s singles – each qualified for the prestigious season finale at total of six times.
Saina’s standout performance came in 2011 when she reached the final and battled through a thrilling three-game match before falling to China’s Wang Yihan.
Sindhu, the torchbearer of Indian women’s badminton following Saina, has an even more distinguished record.
In her maiden appearance at the then Super Series Finals in 2016, she reached the semifinals before falling to Korea’s Sung Ji-hyun.
She reached the final the following year only to be bested once again. Finally, in 2018, she broke her final jinx by defeating Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara to clinch the title, becoming the first and only Indian shuttler to win the prestigious title.
Sindhu was a regular fixture at the Finals when she was at her peak, with her last appearance coming in 2021, the year she won her second Olympic medal, a bronze in Tokyo.
Over the years, several Indian shuttlers have made it to the Finals, though none have matched Sindhu’s towering success.
Kidambi Srikanth holds the record for the most qualifications in men’s singles with five appearances, delivering his best performance in 2014 by reaching the semifinals, a feat matched only by Sameer Verma in 2018.
Both players were stopped in the semifinals by Chinese juggernauts Chen Long and Shi Yuqi.
Other Indian men’s singles players to qualify were Lakshya Sen in 2021 and HS Prannoy in 2022, with the latter causing a major upset by defeating eventual champion Viktor Axelsen in the group stage.
While the Indian men’s singles discipline has enjoyed a relatively broad representation at the World Tour Finals, the women’s singles category has seen a stark contrast, with only Saina and Sindhu having graced the prestigious event.
Elite-8 eludes the Indians
Nonetheless, Indian shuttlers have been a robust presence, until recent drought.
In 2023, inconsistent results, injuries, and poor form among players ended India’s 12-year unbroken run of qualifications.
Unfortunately, this trend seems unlikely to change this year, particularly in men’s and women’s singles.
Priyanshu Rajawat, the closest contender, is currently ranked 32nd in the ‘Race to Finals’ rankings, while Lakshya Sen, despite a fourth-place finish at the Paris Olympics, sits 35th – far away from the top 8 bracket.
As the fight for spots in the World Tour Finals intensified, it must be noted that the Paris Olympics gold medalists have already been guaranteed qualifications. Thus, effectively, seven spots are up for grab in each of the five categories, with maximum of two representations per Member Association.
With many top Indian players skipping the Hylo Open Super 300, the points available at the remaining three events – the Korea Masters Super 300, Japan Masters Super 500, and China Masters Super 750 – will unlikely be sufficient to boost any Indian shuttler’s chance.
In women’s singles, Sindhu, still searching for her form after a Round of 16 exit at the Paris Olympics, has struggled with early exits at the Arctic Open and Denmark Open, placing her 33rd in the ‘Race to Finals’.
She trails Aakarshi Kashyap, India’s highest-ranked women’s singles player this season, making qualification unlikely.
In men’s doubles, the renowned pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who brought glory with titles like the Thomas Cup, Asian Games gold, and multiple World Tour wins in recent years, are also struggling.
They slipped to the 20th spot in the ‘Race to Finals’ rankings following their quarterfinal loss to Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the Paris Olympics.
As they continue to maintain their break from the World Tour, it dashed India’s hopes for a first men’s doubles appearance at the Finals. In 2021, Satwik and Chirag had become the first Indian men’s doubles duo to qualify for the Finals but was forced to pull out due to knee injury to the former. They could not harness the chances in the subsequent years.
The story of Indian mixed doubles is similarly murky.
The only instance of qualification occurred in 2009 when Jwala Gutta and her partner V Diju qualified and reached the final but ultimately lost to Denmark’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen.
Mixed doubles has not traditionally been India’s forte, and no pair has qualified since.
Treesa-Gayatri and Ashwini-Tanisha, glimmer of hopes
Yet, hope is not entirely lost for India.
The rising women’s doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, key players in India’s historic Badminton Asia Team Championships victory earlier this year, are keeping Indian prospects alive.
Their recent semifinal finish at the Macau Open catapulted them into the top 8 in the ‘Race to Finals’ rankings with 61,240 points, sustaining their chances to break India’s qualification hiatus.
As the highest-ranked Indian women’s doubles pair, currently positioned seventh in the ‘Race to Finals’, they aim to secure a Finals berth as a consolation for missing out on the Paris Olympics.
The other women’s doubles pairing in contention is Tanisha Crastro-Ashwini Ponnappa. They are currently ranked eighth in the Race to Finals rankings and should Ashwini return to competitive action after the post-olympic break, the duo stand a chance to make the cut.
If that happens, it will be seminal moment for Indian women’s doubles, and it will end a prolonged wait for India. The only time an women’s doubles pair qualified for the World Tour Finals was in 2021 when Ashwini and her former partner N Sikki Reddy had qualified.
With the Finals offering significant ranking points and prize money, the Indian fans will be eager to see Treesa-Gayatri and Tanisha-Ashwini push for commendable results in the remaining events and seal their spot in Hangzhou.
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