Disappointed with India's badminton team's performance at the Paris Olympics, legendary player Prakash Padukone expressed his frustration, urging players to improve their mental fortitude and deliver results. His comments came after Lakshya Sen's loss in the bronze medal match, resulting in a medal-less campaign for the Indian badminton contingent.
Ashwini Ponnappa defends Lakshya Sen after Paris Olympics exit
However, Indian badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa, a participant in the Paris Olympics, strongly criticized Padukone's remarks, suggesting that it was unfair to publicly criticize the players.
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"Disappointing to see this. If a player wins, everyone jumps on the bandwagon to take credit, and if they lose, it's just the player's fault?!" Ponnappa wrote in an Instagram story.
"Why aren't coaches held responsible for lack of preparation and getting the player ready? They are the first ones to take credit for wins; why not take responsibility for their players' losses as well? At the end of the day, winning takes team effort and losing is also the team's responsibility. You can't suddenly push the player under the bus and blame it all on the player," her story further read.
Prakash Padukone criticised Lakshya Sen for medal-less exit
Former badminton champion Prakash Padukone stressed the need for improved mental preparation among Indian athletes to overcome pressure situations. He suggested that India should emulate China's systematic approach to talent development, which produces a consistent pipeline of top players rather than relying on individual stars.
"We cannot remain satisfied just having one player. We need to focus on the next line, maybe even the third line. Like they do in cricket. You have the main team, then the 'A' team, then the under-19 team, under-17 team. So we need to focus. There is a lot of talent, there is absolutely no doubt but a combined effort is required. And a little bit of effort from the players also. A little more responsibility, a little more accountability. Not just ask for whatever you ask for. Once you are given that, you also have to be accountable. I think the players have to learn to take responsibility," he had told reporters.
Sen's Disappointing Loss and Padukone's Advice
Lakshya Sen suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal match, squandering a promising lead. Padukone emphasized the need for both mental and technical development for the 22-year-old to overcome such setbacks.
"He needs to work a little bit, when he's playing with the wind. Everybody has a problem but I think he has more problem than others. If you saw the first game, the Malaysian played a lot of them and went out. You were not able to control so it happens but you must learn to control and make less mistakes.
"Mistakes will happen, everybody is comfortable playing against the wind because you can play freely without any hesitation but Lakshya probably needs both. A little bit of mind training and the focus on mind training plus a little bit of practice and a little better control he needs to work on the court as well," he had added.
For Padukone, it was pressure that got to Sen, who wilted when Lee unleashed his power-packed strokes.
"Earlier we were not even getting to number four. One thing is very clear, we need to focus more on mind training. We don't give enough attention for sports psychology which is very important," Padukone had further said.
"In the Olympics, if you've seen a lot of top players have all lost, not because they were not good technically or physically but because they couldn't handle the pressure. Olympics is all about handling pressure so all the more important that we pay more attention to mind, do meditation, yoga," he had concluded.
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