In the week before the Indian badminton team left for Jakarta to play in the Indonesian Open, HS Prannoy had a word with Parupalli Kashyap, who at 30, is the senior professional among the male shuttlers. “Do not play a passive game against Lee Chong Wei. We end up giving him an advantage by doing so. Play an aggressive game,” advised Kashyap. 

When Prannoy played Wei, the world number three, in the pre-quarters of the Indonesian Open, he knew Kashyap would be watching him from Hyderabad. He did Kashyap proud by handing Wei his first defeat of 2017, beating him 21-10, 21-8. The scorecard was a reflection of the aggression and complete dominance Prannoy exhibited. More importantly, it showed that Indian shuttlers are now hunting as a pack, thinking for each other.

“We all speak to each other very openly. There is a lot of discussion about each player, how to play against him,” Prannoy said.

Likewise, when Prannoy lost to Kazumasa Sakai of Japan in the semis at the Indonesian Open and Kidambi Srikanth was to meet him in the finals, the Kerala shuttler did not go into a shell. Prannoy and Srikanth, who invariably share a room when they go for tournaments abroad, had a detailed discussion about the strategy the latter should employ.

“Prannoy told me the mistakes he made and that helped me in the finals. If we become jealous and do not discuss strategies between us, it degrades us a bit, I feel,” said Srikanth, who went on to win the Super Series Premier title. 

The cameras spot only sole Indian player, his racquet and his coach on the sidelines of the court. What the viewer does not see is that Indians are playing an individual sport such as badminton, as Team India. Post the recent flush of victories, the team is making a statement about it.

This is a different world from what Indian badminton was like in the 90s, when the mindset was very different. One of Saina Nehwal’s early coaches, Goverdhan Reddy had this interesting anecdote to relate from the time when she was a 13-year-old. 

“I would make sure I kept Saina away from the senior players who had toured abroad because at that time, the mindset among Indian players was that foreigners–which essentially meant the Chinese since they dominated world badminton– could never be beaten and so all chit-chat would be in that frame of mind,” said Reddy. “For a newcomer to be told that you will always lose to certain people is not the best grooming,” she explained. 

Brought up in compulsory isolation, Nehwal therefore, grew up with the belief that the Chinese wall can be breached. That even though the Land of the Dragon produces a conveyor belt of world-class players, a Saina vs China battle would not be an unequal game. 

The male shuttlers have seen Nehwal get the better of Chinese opponents and know nothing is impossible. But unlike her who was made to take on two to three male shuttlers on the other side of the court, to improve her reflexes and also get used to powerful smashes by the Chinese, the boys had no such luxury.

In fact, Kashyap was the unluckiest of the lot. He did not have quality sparring partners as he was the lone big ticket Indian male shuttler for about five years. Srikanth, Prannoy and Sai Praneeth were lucky that when they were coming up, they had Kashyap to train with and also the three, who are all 24, can test their skills against each other everyday. 

In the 90s, Pullela Gopichand moved to the German League to ensure he got to train with a variety of players with different skillsets. When he started his academy in Hyderabad, Gopichand wanted to replicate that experience. Today the institution has a Praneeth who is a crafty player and a Sameer Verma who is extremely unorthodox and wonderfully deceptive. Prannoy with the power and Srikanth with the big smashes complete the buffer spread. 

“Each one of them has now realised after reaching this level, that working together makes a difference. That you cannot do it alone, each one has to push the other to do better. It is great to see Kashyap guiding players junior to him. We have Srikanth and Praneeth working together. They are all a bunch with each one’s experience helping the other,” says Gopichand.

Which is perhaps why Gopichand said it was not Srikanth but Team India that won in Jakarta. “Credit in fact, should go to Prannoy for clearing the way for Srikanth to win the Indonesian Open by defeating two big players – Lee Chong Wei and Olympic champion Chen Long,” he said.

On Tuesday morning at the academy, Kashyap, Prannoy and Gopichand were training together on court. After every rally, Kashyap and Prannoy were pushing each other to do better. Kashyap is the original rockstar of the Indian badminton team, who is a treat to watch when in full flow and Prannoy is slowly coming into his own, after having had a torrid time with injuries. The aim is common – to master the craft of controlling the bird. In the world of sweat-soaked T-shirts and willing oneself to stretch one’s muscles to the maximum, emotions like envy and rancour have no room.

The author can be contacted on Twitter @Iamtssudhir.