Generational shift on badminton court? The sport is flooded with talent

The case for a merit-based sporting system has long grated Indian sports' seniority-based system; Nehwal isn't the first big Indian athlete to feel this pinch and won't be the last

The signs were all there. All you had to do was pay attention. The dip in a stalwart’s form, a federation’s desire to move on, the emergence of younger talent — self-preservation versus natural selection.

Asked to participate in the national trials for selection into the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games badminton team, Saina Nehwal declined, citing a packed schedule and bad timing as reasons for her sitting out and protecting herself for the season. Nehwal has blamed those in charge for her absence.

“As a senior player,” Saina Nehwal reasoned on Twitter, “to participate in back to back events nonstop is