Prakash Padukone’s criticism is misplaced

The alacrity with which Prakash Padukone defended the federations and the government, and shifted the responsibility onto the players publicly is reckless and in poor taste.

India’s badminton coach Prakash Padukone’s recent lashing out at players after their defeat is a case of barking up the wrong tree, and disowning collective responsibility.

After India’s star player Lakshya Sen lost his bronze medal match, Padukone told media persons that at least for the results in this Olympics and the previous one, one could not hold the federations and government responsible for the results. “They have done whatever they can. Ultimately the responsibility is on the players to go and deliver when it matters the most.”

Furthermore, Padukone said the players need to introspect, and not just keep asking more from the federations.

The alacrity with which Padukone defended the federations and the government and shifted the responsibility onto the players publicly is reckless and in poor taste; unexpected from a champion and coach.

If Sen had won the match and a bronze medal, the federations and the government would be the first to take credit for the success and bask in the victor’s glory as we’ve seen in the last few years; but when it comes to the failure of sportspersons, they shy away from responsibility. How fair is this?

While Padukone’s lambasting was aimed at Sen after his defeat, it also was seemingly directed at the other Badminton Olympians P V Sindhu, H S Prannoy, and the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, all of whom lost their matches.

At the ongoing Olympics, there were a few other Indians who missed a podium finish to secure the fourth position. But their coaches and mentors didn’t chastise them; rather, patted them on their back for trying their best and encouraged them to try harder.

Aside from pinning the blame on the players for not winning medals, Padukone expressed his displeasure on Sen’s defeat saying “I am not happy with the fourth position of Lakshaya. Axelsen might say that Sen is the next best. But that’s not good enough.”

Viktor Axelsen, the Olympics champion who beat Sen in the semi-finals, heaped praises on Sen’s fighting spirit and hailed the young Indian to win gold at the next Olympics in 2028. Such words go a long way to boost the morale of players. Unlike Padukone’s dispiriting utterances, Axelsen’s words must have come as a shot in the arm for the 22-year-old Sen.

This was Sen’s debut Olympics and ranked 22nd in the world, he was quite the underdog going into the Paris games. Yet, he reached the semi-finals beating some big names — and that’s no mean achievement. No other male badminton player from India has reached the semi-final of the Olympics. Sen is a fighter and is bound to come back stronger.

Talking about facilities for sportspersons, Padukone went on to say: “I don’t think any other country, including the US, has so many facilities.” Sports facilities may have improved in recent years, but we cannot compare it to sporting powerhouses such as the United States or China which are miles ahead and the tailwinds of those decades of investment in sports reflects in the performance of their athletes.

Padukone’s anxiety and frustration as a coach and mentor is understandable; despite fielding world-class badminton players the team is returning without a single medal.

Winning or losing in sports, or for that matter in life, is par for the course. While commenting about the players’ performance, Padukone said “they have beaten the same players in other tournaments. But when it comes to the Olympics, we are not able to.” Such statements seem puerile.

Take the case of the men’s tennis finals between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. The latter has beaten Djokovic in the last year consistently, yet Alcaraz lost the Olympic finals to Djokovic. As sportspersons know well, you can beat a player at one tournament and lose to the same player at another tournament. That’s the way it is, in sports or in life. Whether Sen wins or loses, let it be a collective responsibility, a team victory as much as an individual win.

Finally, it is embarrassing that India with its 1.3 billion people is at the bottom of the medals tally. Some serious introspection is needed to determine why India’s performance is so dismal, why it is consistently struggling to win medals — and more importantly, what needs to be done.

(The writer is a Bengaluru-based journalist).

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.