Badminton: China’s Backyard. How Long?

Many critics claim Badminton must be removed from the list of Olympics’ sports. Why? Chinese domination, resulting in a drastic decrease in interest and decreasing global appeal. In the last 20 years, China has won 16 Gold medals at the Olympics, more than the next two nations’ combined tally. History repeats itself! Badminton, as a sport was always polarized, with contenders from across the world. But the situation has changed drastically in last decade. This has ensured a decrease in spectator interest, with London witnessing empty stands in most matches.

Though non-Chinese players make up the Top 10 in the BWF rankings as well, it has largely become an all-Asian affair, with little or no presence from western nations. But what threatens the sport is the hegemony of the Chinese. At the BWF Championships in Guangzhou, China topped the tally with 2 Gold and 8 medals in all. London Olympics 2012 was no different, with China winning all the gold medals! So much so that some observers are saying why even play Badminton at Olympics; give the medal directly to China! The effect of this hegemony is a virtual boycott by most nations from the sport. Participation is lacking by most non-Asian nations, except Germany. Ticket sales have dipped by as much as 40% in many venues. This has raised concerns that Badminton, which is losing its global appeal, might be suspended as an event at Olympics. This happened with softball, when the US came to dominate it, finally resulting in its suspension.

Badminton is a sport that requires significant investment in infrastructure and training, something that the Chinese have excelled at. As they built infrastructure, they built training centers and academies. They have training programs for both men and women; a boarding program where the state provides all the requisite facilities from its pocket. China has the numbers; a huge pool of talent to pick from. In contrast, other nations like German, Denmark and US provide limited support, with family bearing the lion’s shares of expenses, deterring many from pursuing it actively. As the sport becomes more popular and stars like Lin Dan and Zhang Ding rise, a following is created en masse. With fierce competition in the offering, players train harder, as much as 15 hours a day! Most western players don’t train more than 6-8 hours a day.

Vince Lombardi said “Winning is not a sometime thing, it’s an all-time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit”. The question to ask is “How long will the Chinese juggernaut roll?” In the current scenario, very few nations match Chinese prowess in badminton. With the State planning for many years to come, this has ensured that China will continue to maintain the edge in the sport. Despite nations like India, Indonesia and Malaysia patronizing the sport, none can match the Dragon. For now, all we hope is the rising Tiger pummels the dragon. And the Chinese will hope their dear game doesn’t follow the path of softball into sunset.