This year saw Indian badminton take a big leap with the emergence of Indian Badminton League (IBL); however, Saina Nehwal endured a frustrating season without any titles as PV Sindhu made an impression at the international circuit.
Unlike last year, where Saina became the first Indian shuttler to win an Olympic medal, her form dipped and she was hit by injuries, which took a big toll on her rankings.
Saina slipped to number six in rankings and also failed to defend her titles in Indonesia, Denmark, Switzerland and Thailand. The 23-year-old was not even able to make to the finals of these events except for her Malaysia Super Series and All England's semi-final finishes. On the other hand, Sindhu became the new sensation by winning a singles medal at the world championship in Guangzhou and also by winning two Grand Prix gold titles in an year - Malaysia Grand Prix and Macau Open Grand Prix.
The men shuttlers were also not far behind with Parupalli Kashyap scaling new heights; he became only the seond Indian shuttler after Pullela Gopichand to break into top 10 of world rankings.
In January, Kashyap became the world No. 9 and moved to No. 6, before falling out of top 10. Also, emerging player K Srikanth took the badminton world by storm by winning the Thailand Open Grand Prix.
A key moment for Indian badminton arrivede in the month of August when the IBL was launched with top-seeded players adding credibility to the tournament. The franchise-based league gave the young Indians a chance to compete with the best in the world.
The Hyderabad Hotshots led by Saina defeated Awadhe warriors in the finals to lift the inaugural title. The IBL had its share of controversies too when the price of marquee players Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa was reduced on the auction day. Both the disgruntled players expressed their disappointment through the media.
Then, during the tournament, Delhi Smashers threatened to pull out during a match against Banga Beats due to the last-minute replacement of injured Hu Yun with Jan Jorgensen. This issue became a big one when Badminton Associaton of India's disciplinary committee recommended a life ban on Jwala (captain of Delhi Smashers) for influencing players of her team from playing the match. The issue was, however, sorted out after the Delhi High Court intervened.
The year 2013 would be remembered as a year of the youngsters, who made an impact and signalled for a great future of Indian badminton. Saina definitely endured a turbulent year without a single title; but Sindhu, Kashyap, Srikanth and IBL ensured that Indian badminton signed out on a high.
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