KUALA LUMPUR: Over the last five years, India has established itself as one of the powerhouses in world badminton.
From winning three gold medals at the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham to clinching the 2022 Thomas Cup in Bangkok and winning the men's doubles gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, India is fast becoming the team to beat in most major events.
What is the formula for their success, and how did they improve so rapidly?
India's former world No. 1 K. Srikanth, in an interview with Timesport, attributed their rise to good governance and a conducive ecosystem for everybody.
Srikanth is in town with the Indian squad for the Badminton Asia Team Championships (BATC) in Selangor.
"I cannot single out one particular factor, but it's a combination of a few that complements everything, which then translates into results.
"It's the kind of support we get in terms of our coaches, the facilities we have. We must thank Gopi Sir (Gopichand Pullela) for setting things up and getting the ball rolling.
"Then we have our association (Badminton Association of India), the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Indian government, who set up TOPS (Target Olympics Podium Scheme), which most of us are a part of.
"All these contribute to a solid ecosystem," said Srikanth, who is more than happy to still play an important role for the men's team, despite being the country's No. 3 men's singles player behind world No. 7 H. S. Prannoy and world No. 19 Lakshya Sen.
Srikanth also pointed out that having satellite training centres across the country massively contribute to increasing the talent pool and interest in the sport.
"Right now we have three national centres, one is in Hyderabad, one in Bangalore, and one in the North East.
"National players can choose where they want to be based at, and I believe this is very important because otherwise, it will be like forcing players to move to a state where they are not from.
"When you have many national training centres, it encourages the local kids to also look up to their seniors from around there.
"When these seniors do well, the kids there want to play well and become like their idols. That's how you build a proper ecosystem," added Srikanth, from Andhra Pradesh, who trains at the Hyderabad training centre.
It's not only the men's team making waves in the badminton arena, but the ripple effect is seen among the younger female shuttlers as well.
On Wednesday, the women's team, led by former world champion P. V. Sindhu, stunned China 3-2 in Group W at the Setia City Convention Centre.
With the Paris Olympics fast approaching, it will be interesting to see if India has more surprises for the rest of the world.
One thing for sure, there is no doubt that India is a new badminton giant.