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Ol Go ym ld p Ru ic s s
Vol. 3. No. 6
For Private Circulation Only
June-July 2012
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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
June - July 2012
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June - July 2012
Sindhu Triumphs
at Asian Juniors “Although my father and mother were national level Volleyball players, I chose badminton and my parents supported me”– says Sindhu.
T
his year’s BAC Youth Under 19 Championships saw another rising star from India, PV Sindhu creating history to win the Girls’ Singles title. This is the first time an Indian girl is winning this title. The signs have been apparent for quite some time. Sindhu had lifted four international titles at Indonesia, Maldives, India, and Switzerland in 2011. She also reached the finals of the Dutch Open. Recently, Sindhu reached the pre-quarterfinals of the Thailand Grand Prix and the Indonesian Super Series. Sindhu started her Badminton training at a very young age under Mohammed Ali. Later, Sindhu’s father P.V. Ramana, Arjuna Awardee in Volleyball used to take her all the way to Gacchibowli stadium to be trained under Gopichand which was 27 kms away from their house. “Although my father and mother were national level Volleyball players, I chose badminton and my parents supported me” says Sindhu. Recalling her early years, she adds, “They travelled with me for all the tournaments and gave me guidance and encouragement”. Ramana is all praise for his daughter. He
Attractive Discounts during the Tournament
Super Stockists
said, “The finals started at 10 am local time and even after 11 we were not able to get the result. Anxiety was building up and I was sure the third set was in progress”. He added, “When the result came around 11.30 the whole family jumped with joy. Sindhu was down 16-19 in the third and she took the title at 22-20. It shows her confidence in her game. I’m very happy”. Sindhu defeated Okuhara Nozomi of Japan 18-21, 21-17, 22-20 in the final to win Asian Youth Under-19 Championship. “More challenging was the Quarter finals against last year’s winner Sun Yu of China” said Sindhu. “Another tough one was the semi-final against the Thailand girl. The
Junior ABC - 2012 final was a “do-or-die-battle”. It was very close till the last and took around an hour”, Sindhu added. Sindhu’s growth in the Indian Junior circuit was not a sudden one. Sindhu used to play in all tournaments in the national circuit in different categories – both singles & doubles. She used to win a few and lose many during the early years. She used to take wins and losses in her stride. When time came for her to make her foray into the international circuit, this experience helped her to cope with the sudden jump. It could
be that the victories of Saina , who is playing under the same coach, have helped her to dream big. Victories started with a tough win in the Indonesia final against Ratnasari a year back. After that it was a straight climb all the way to world #25. About her training Sindhu said, “I have two training sessions at 7.30 and 11.30 in the morning and one at 4.30 in the afternoon. We play [a] lot of games as we get close to the tournaments with different players and train a lot during the off season. Each session is tough. Now we stay very close to the Academy and I come home after each session. Although I get to go out only on Sundays, I’m enjoying. We normally eat out on Sundays”, Sindhu commented on her daily routine. Sindhu’s story is about hard work and sacrifice by her and the entire family. “We have to sacrifice many things in life” said her father. “I never put on a sad face when my daughter loses a match. Winning and losing are part of the game. I have seen many parents get upset when their children lose. Support them: that is what they need at that time from you. I could give her some tips as I was also playing at a high level”. Sindhu has been part of the Indian team for the last two years and the way it is going and with the exposure she is getting, a place in the top 10 is not far away. -GUTS
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Bringing fitness to life
The mighty beast of mixed doubles, Diju having a chat with TR Balachandran for
The most feared Man When did you start dreaming of playing Olympics: I remember reading about Vimal Sir playing the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. But, I started thinking of playing Olympics only recently, after our qualification started looking possible,just before the India Super Series in April. Where were you in world ranking before the Beijing Olympics? Did you have a chance to qualify then? No, we started playing together (with Jwala) continuously only just after the Beijing Olympics and so were not in the running in 2008. Diju, you have told me that winning the junior national doubles with Sanave Thomas made you realise that you really had the potential to be a good player. When did you realise that you had it in you to become a good international player? It was during the Thomas Cup matches we played in Eindhoven in 2004. Who forged the now-famous Diju-Jwalacombine? Vimal Sir who was the National Coach used to tell me that I would do well to combine
with Jwala. I was playing Doubles with Jaseel Ismail and our entries were sent to the International Challenge event in Indonesia in 2005. We ended up winning the tournament. Still, we never combined at the international level till 2008 when we spent our own money and played the Bitburger and Bulgarian Opens in 2008, both of which we won. From then on, we have been playing together. Your injury and the break.... I suffered a fairly severe injury to my L4, L5 and S1 vertebrae after the All England 2010. I had to undergo surgery at the Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore for it. I also underwent physiotherapy at the Manipal Hospital under the guidance of Dr. Fiddy Davis. The five month break and the rehabilitation really brought me back to normal. I started performing well immediately after resuming competitive play. Compare the infrastructure for Badminton available now and when you started out to play. Things have changed tremendously for the better. The last three years, I would say were the best so far as Indian Badminton,
GUTS, hours before the flight to glory at Olympics.
training, exposure, diet etc. are concerned. There are more and more Badminton courts coming up and there are lots of courts with synthetic surfaces and there has been a spurt in the game in the last few years at a national level. What do you say about Sanave & Rupesh, our top doubles duo not qualifying for London? It was really unfortunate. Over the last one year, they have been trying really hard but competition at the top is so intense that they have not been able to break into the quarters except in the India Super Series. They could not get enough point to qualify. Really sad. What about the future of doubles in India with you, Sanave and Rupesh at the 30+ stage now? The younger players, at least three to four pairs are good and hard-working but need to be sent out frequently to participate in international tournaments and training camps abroad. This only will enable them to adjust to the terrific pace at which international doubles is played now. I think it is high time the BAI think tank started planning on these lines as no amount
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June - July 2012
of training at home will substitute this experience. What are your plans for the future, any plans to retire soon, with impending marriage and more domestic commitments? I have not thought of retirement and hope to continue to play for a couple of years at least. Do you still remember your early days at Trichur Indoor Stadium where you, Sanave and Thomas Kurian, all of whom played for the country in Thomas Cup, started out? It is pure nostalgia when I think about the place and those years. I go there and sit around the stadium whenever I get time. It has been closed down for the last couple of years for renovation prior to the National Games. Same is the case with the Kozhikode Indoor Stadium which helped produce Jaseel Ismail, Aparna Balan and Arun Vishnu. I do not know where players will practise in Trichur and Kozhikode till the National Games. London Badminton event has a league format unlike Badminton competitions in earlier Olympics. What about it? Two teams qualify for the knockout quarter finals from 4 groups of four teams each in the Doubles events. It is good for us as we will still have a chance even if we draw a strong Chinese team in our first match. What makes you one of the most feared “Men” mixed doubles players in the world? (laughs), I was not aware of that. But, yes, I am quick to pounce on the weak serves of my opponents and having Jwala, a ”lefty” with her imposing presence and confidence, helps. As you leave to London, would you like to remember, I know that there are many people, someone who helped make this great achievement possible? Yes, my first coaches in Trichur Sri Balachandran Nair and Sri Vinod Narayan who taught me the right basics and the importance of discipline and hard work, Vimal Sir who was always at hand to guide me during the many camps I attended with him when he was national coach, Hadi Sugiyanto, the Indonesian Coach who was with the Indian team who really made a difference to the way we played doubles are people who spring to my mind. They are many others as well. All the very best to you Diju, come back with a medal Thank you.
Olympics Gold Rush F
our years ago, a young girl woke India to a possibility of an Olympic medal in badminton before nerves got the better of her in the quarterfinals. But that performance laid the foundation of self-belief among the Indian shuttlers, which the five member contingent will ride on to the London Olympics that begins on July 27. That bundle of energy called Saina Nehwal has matured over the four year period and can bank on her experience of winning many major tournaments when she enters the Wembley Arena with an aim to end India’s medal drought at the Games. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist has earned the reputation of being the biggest challenger to the Chinese hegemony at the Games thanks to her back-to-back victories in the Thailand Grand Prix Gold and Indonesia Super Series premier last month. Saina and national coach Pullela Gopi Chand would be especially pleased with her victories over the Chinese duo of Shixian Wang in the quarterfinals and Li Xuerui in the final of the Indonesia Open which tested both her skills and mental strength. During that tournament a new dimension of Saina’s game – strong defence and variation – was on display and the Indian ace would be happy to know that, by virtue of being the fourth seed, she would not face any Chinese shuttler till the last four stage of the competition. Since the Beijing Olympics, Saina has always faltered at the last eight stage of the World Championships, Asian championships and the 2010 Asian Games with the
majority of her losses coming against the players from India’s eastern neighbours. If she manages to play according to the billing and reach the semi-final stage, then even the yellow metal could glitter around her neck. While Saina will invariably be the centre of attraction at the Games, the doubles combinations of Jwala Gutta/Ashwini Ponnappa and Jwala/V Diju have the potential to spring a surprise. The doubles draw in the Olympics is of 16 and that would mean that two good days in the competition could propel any pair towards the podium. Jwala and Aswhini have already been there and done that when they became the first Indian combination to win the 2011 World Championship bronze medal at the same venue where the Olympic badminton events would be played. The doubles combinations have very little to lose as they are first timers at the Games and all they will be hoping for is a good performance that will allow them the breathing space and a launch pad for the business end of the tournament. Another Indian who would be hoping for a medal will be men’s singles player P Kashyap. According to the rules of the competition, the singles players would be divided into 16 groups and only the top placed player from each group would advance to the knock out stage. However, Kashyap can take heart from his recent victory over World number three, Chen Long of China in Indonesia and if he could replicate that form in London, India will have much to celebrate. – Abijeeth Kulkarni
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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
June - July 2012
Good System Required India needs a good system
to convert talent into champions, says Hafiz in an exclusive interview with Abhijeet Kulkarni for GUTS
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ormer All England champion Mohammad Hafiz Hashim is not willing to call time on his badminton career but the 29-year-old is already looking to contribute to producing future champions. Towards this end, he has been training a group of talented shuttlers at the Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy for the last three weeks. The Malaysian spoke to GUTS about his career plans, his country’s obsession with the Olympic gold and the roadmap India needs to follow to challenge the superpowers in world badminton.
You are still actively playing on the international circuit. Then what brought you here? Yes I am actively playing and enjoying myself on the international circuit. I will continue playing till I think I can take the rigours of training. But at the same time, I have been occasionally coaching youngsters back home. I had a break due to the Olympics and so when I got a call from Nikhil to come here and conduct a camp, I thought it will be a good opportunity for me to work with talented youngsters in India. You have been training the kids for almost three weeks now. What is your observation about the talent pool in India? I have really enjoyed training the kids here. I have been to India quite a few times before for playing and I have always been excited with the talent that is on offer in India. But mere talent cannot take them anywhere till a system is developed to make them physically stronger and technically better. Can you elaborate? It is heartening to see that some very good facilities like this (the Balewadi complex) have come up in India. But it is also important that the children enjoy playing the sport at a young age and concentrate on improving their technique. Once they reach the senior level that is when the results should count. Is that the reason why Malaysia’s younger generation is not getting results? I don’t really know. We have a good system of coaching where most of the former international level players are coaching. But I guess the youngsters are struggling to cope up with the pressure of performing on the international stage. Do you think that pressure will be on Lee Chong Wei during the Olympics? The pressure will definitely be there. The government and many others have been announcing big cash awards for a Gold medal in Olympics. But then Chong Wei has been the world number one for a long time and has earned a lot in prize money. So hopefully he can handle the pressure better than many others.
(L to R) Sanjeeth S., Nischita, U. Vinod, Vijay Lancy
Half Smash Cup One lakh rupees for the winners of an amateur doubles badminton tournament. Sounds far-fetched?
W
ell, that’s what organizers of the Half-Smash Cup in Bangalore offered, making it the highest prize money tournament in India. The tournament was held from July 27 to 29 at the Karnataka Badminton Association courts in Bangalore. In Badminton Doubles often takes a backseat to singles in India, and singles players walk away with a greater percentage of the prize money. The Half-Smash Cup, which is in its third edition, is a doublesonly tournament and offers staggering prize money for its three events: the Open Doubles, Masters’ Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. While the Open Doubles had a purse of Rs 1 lakh for the winners and Rs.50,000/- for runners up, the Masters’ event too had an impressive purse: Rs 50,000 for winners and Rs 30,000 for runners-up. The Mixed Doubles winners and runners got Rs 30,000 and 20,000/-respectively and semifinals also carry handsome prize money, something unheard of in the history of Indian Badminton. To keep professional players from competing in the Open and Masters categories, organizers had barred state and national senior players of the last five years, but the Mixed Doubles was open even to state and national players. The event was organized by ACE (Ace Sports Association), a non-profit organization with 50 members, and Time Pass Sports Management, the owners of the Aratt Fighters franchise in the Karnataka Badminton League. The tournament was conducted very professionally by the organizers with the support of Sports Excellence who conducted KBL.
There was a huge response to the tournament for this year with teams from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and a few players from Maharashtra, Lucknow, Haryana & Rajasthan participating in this tournament. The tournament also saw big names like Ajay Jayaram, Anup Sridhar,Mohit Kamat, Sayali Gokhale, Abhishek Yeligar, Velavan, Nischitha, Jacqueline, Varsha Belavadi, Ruth Misha etc. participating in mixed doubles and Vinod Kumar, Vijay Lancy , Sanjeet, Anup Kiran, Sudhakar etc in the open & masters’ events - all vying for this highest prize money tournament in this country. ACE President Mr Suresh Srinivasan, former veteran champion commented that, “we all play Badminton daily and we find that only a few top players are recognised in our country and the doubles is totally ignored. We want to change this approach to doubles”. Badminton enthusiast Kannan is of the opinion that doubles is far more entertaining than singles and singles players walk away with a disproportionately big portion of the cake. We have to develop and the only method we saw is to keep the prize money higher than what is normally offered for Singles. Indian Badminton doubles legend, U.Vinod along with former international vijay Lancy walked away with double crowns in Open & 35+ categories. Many gave a hard time for them in open category and in general all matches were very closely fought in this tournament. “We wanted to show that such big prize money is possible in domestic badminton events as well,” said Thomas Kunnath. “There are around thousands playing
>7 badminton at a higher level. They are not getting enough finances or support from the associations or sponsors. They are the strength of Indian Badminton. If they are not taken care of, badminton won’t grow. This tournament is for them and to strengthen the roots of Indian Badminton.”. Muthukrishan said, “Such tournaments will help encourage second-string players who cannot make it to the national team. See in Tennis, our strength is in doubles. See how many Grand slams India has won. We are showing the way, let the associations do better”. International Coach Tom John is of the opinion that, “ India is not winning any mixed event team championships in the world because enough care is not taken of doubles At a very young age itself players should specialize in doubles. Before the match former International Vinod said, “When I was playing I had never heard of prize money like this. Even now it is not there”. At 44, if Vinod along with 37 year old Vijay Lancy can win national level open tournaments, then there is something drastically wrong with Indian badminton doubles. Men’s Doubles Semi Finals: Anup Kiran M D, WPBA, and Jeevan T R (7), KBA, def. Pradhan Anil, KODAGU, and Sanjeeth S (3), KBA, 21-18 21-23 21-18. Vijay Lancy and Vinod U (5), KBA, def. Amith Kumar and Karthikey K (10), SAI, 14-21 21-18 21-18 Final: Vijay Lancy and Vinod U (5), KBA, def. Anup Kiran M D, WPBA, and Jeevan T R (7), KBA, 21-23 21-13 21-16 . Mixed Doubles Semi Finals: Sanjeeth S and Nischita G M (1), KBA, def. Anup Sridhar and Varsha Belwadi (3), TOM’S, 21-12 16-21 22-20. Abhinand Shetty and Sangeetha Mari (2), KBA, def. Abhishek Yeligar and Sayali Gokhale (6), PPBA, 22-20 15-21 21-17. Final: Sanjeeth S and Nischita G M (1), KBA, def. Abhinand Shetty and Sangeetha Mari (2), KBA, 13-21 21-11 21-13 . Men’s Doubles Over 35 Semi Finals: Vijay Lancy and Vinod U (1), KBA, def. Bhaskar Balan, SAI, and Deepak Raj (3), BLORE, 12-21 21-9 21-12 . Girish Kumar V G, ECA, and Sudhakar B N (2), NGV, def. Kandavel, TN, and Sangameshwar (7), BLORE, 21-14 21-17. Final: Vijay Lancy and Vinod U (1), KBA, def. Girish Kumar V G, ECA, and Sudhakar B N (2), NGV, 22-20 21-13 .
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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
June - July 2012
Got sufficient exposure Ashwini Ponnappa talks about her path to Olympics and her preparations to T R Balachandran of GUTS just before she left for London What is your first memory of Olympics? I can recall Aparna Popat playing the Athen’s Olympics in 2004. I think she lost to Mia Audina of Indonesia. I also have a vague memory of the Sydney Olympics. When did you first realistically think of playing Olympics? Initially, my priority was to do well in India and we became (with Nitya Sosale) the best in India in Sub Juniors and Juniors. But, it was after pairing up with Jwala that I started looking ahead and felt, right from the first tournament we played together, that we could really do well in the World stage. Were you sure of qualification for London 2012? It was a very close shave indeed. We had to reach the quarters in the India Super Series which was the last Olympic qualifying event to ensure that we qualified irrespective of what other teams did. This we did with a win over the Indonesian pair who had beaten us a week before! It was a great relief once we qualified. What is your opinion about the current in Badminton infrastructure available in India for training and competing at a World level ? Things have improved for us beyond recognition. The ministry of Sports and SAI have done a commendable job in giving us sufficient exposure over the last three years. Without this, however hard we would have trained, we would not have been able to cope with the world’s best. I hope this welcome trend continues.
How about your preparation for Olympics? Jwala and I train with Dronacharya S M Arif at the LB Stadium, Hyderabad and also with the national team at Pullela Gopi Chand Academy at Gatchibowli under Indonesian Coach Edwin Iriyawan. Arif Sir is so particular that we get our basics right and it helps us a lot. Edwin is a superb coach and his multi-shuttle routines are helping us hone our game for the battles ahead. There has been encouraging comments in the press that the current Indian Olympic contingent is well and truly hungry for success unlike many teams before. Yes, I do agree. We too are not going to London for the heck of it or for shopping. We have long back realised that merely representing India is not enough and that we stand a realistic chance of doing very well at the international level. We continue to believe that. When did you realise that you were better suited to doubles? My coaches would tell me that my powerful smashes and good low serves make me ideal for doubles play and finally, I was selected to the national doubles camp. At that stage, there were restrictions on my continuing competitive singles as nowhere else, top notch doubles players play singles. Personally, I would have loved to play singles for a little more time. How is the doubles event viewed in India and abroad? Doubles has always been a poor cousin of singles in India. It is by far the more interesting to watch of all the events but, hardly gets a mention in press and electronic media. I am happy that Jwala and I have been able to kindle some interest among the public about doubles, with our achievements. In Sudirman Cup (World Mixed Team Championships), World Junior Team Championships etc., three out of five matches are paired
June - July 2012
events i.e. Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Most of the countries are trying extra hard to improve their doubles standard. We have to do that as well. The recognition given to the doubles players in India has also been disproportionately low when compared to their singles counterparts. The national singles champions have been presented cars for their ‘single victory’ but Rupesh Kumar who won a record nine consecutive national doubles titles gets hardly anything of note, money or visibility. It is sad.
were to succeed at that level. This realisation has helped me work harder on these aspects and achieve the successes we have had in the international arena. Your memories of the Karnataka tournament circuit... I fondly look back at all the tournaments I played in Bangalore in the Mini, Sub Junior and Junior categories when my mother would pick me up from school and take me to Canara Union courts, East Cultural Association etc. I also remember the fierce competition we had among ourselves which took us all (about four or five of us) to the top national level in juniors.
What is your first memory of sports? Winning a Badminton competition in the RBI Quarters in Ulsoor where we lived in Bangalore when I was six years!!
Can you look back at the support you have received which helped you become the player you are.
What was the critical change which happened in your game which helped in the evolution of a truly world class player?
I have been singularly fortunate to have great coaches who taught me the basics as well as the nuances of the game, great teachers and lecturers who guided me in school and college, loving parents and family who have stood by me through thick and thin. My sincere thanks are due to them for making my London Olympics possible.
Once I got international exposure after pairing up with Jwala, I quickly realised that, unlike in India where I could get a point in doubles with my second or third smash at least, I needed to work very hard to earn my points. I had to be very patient and consistent in everything I did on court if we
p r e s e n t s Answer’s to the last issue: 16 & Li Xuerui
Winners of Quiz Competition for the month April-May 2012 1st Prize Winners: Augustine Amal (Bangalore) Deeraj (Bangalore) 2nd Prize Winners Suresh S., (Bangalore) Ekampreet Singh (Ludhiana, Pubjab) 3rd Prize Winners: Jose C (Kerala) P Gopal Krishnan (Bangalore) Kannan Iyer (Bangalore)
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Smash Cup ? Questions: le Title in Half ub o D ed ix M e Mari b) Anup 1. Who one th y & Sangeetha tt he chita S d an in a) Abh anjeeth S & Nis S c) i ad w el B a Sridhar & Varsh ar & Sayali lig Ye k he d) Abhis this year? women’s title cs pi m ly O e Li Xuerui 2. Who won th aina Newal c) S b) an ih Y g a) Wan d) Wang Xin ers to d your answ
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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
June - July 2012
Prevention is better than cure Common sporting injuries in badminton and primordial prevention strategies
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or a sportsperson intending on a long career, staying completely injury-free, if it were at all possible, would be best. The next best option that can prolong the career is to arm oneself with the crucial knowledge about the common injuries, their causes, avoiding risky manoeuvres that lead to injury and preventive measures .
Ankle ligament strain is a very common and recurrent injury and the chances of recurrent strains are high. Repeated episodes can be very debilitating. Prevention strategies should begin from the day the sport is taken seriously. Assessment of foot ankle pattern to determine whether the sportsperson is an excessive pronator or supinator should be done. Following this, the most appropriate footwear for the pattern should be chosen. Should the injury still occur, post recovery, the sportsperson should constantly use the appropriate ankle brace or the taping techniques so as to support the joint. Being regular and disciplined goes a long way in prevention of these injuries . Never forget the basics
Ankle joint: schematic representation of all lateral ligaments
The most common badminton injuries can broadly be divided into these categories: acute (sudden) or chronic (long term due to recurrent overuse). The sudden injuries that occur most often are: • Ankle ligament injury (or sprain)/tendoachilles strain • Tennis elbow • Rotator cuff (deep shoulder muscles) strain • Wrist ligament strain Common chronic injuries include: • Patellofemoral damage or arthritis • Rotator cuff tear
1. Warm up 2. Stretch 3. High level activity 4. Stretch 5. Complete cool down The diet must include appropriate sports nutrition, care must be taken to prevent excessive fatigue and a conscious and sustained effort must be done to build endurance. Proximal weakness that leads to distal trouble [as described by Vladimir Janda] is best understood in the condition of tennis elbow. When the upper core and shoulder become weak , all the load has to be taken up by the distal muscles at the elbow and wrist area. This, in turn, overworks them and when recurrent, leads to decompensation. Tennis elbow is now known to be due to weak shoulder muscles and core.. Assess weakness before season and regularly work on it. Spend the time and effort to perform a good assessment of the racquet grip size. The use of correct technique and biomechanics goes a long way in preventing injury. Taping and wearing braces may be of some help.
Basic shoulder anatomy and all ligaments
Rotator cuff: Schematic picture
Rotator cuff muscles are deep shoulder muscles which are of cardinal importance in balancing the large humeral head on the much smaller glenoid. These muscles are called the steering group .Any weakness in or imbalance in strength leads to insufficient centering of humeral head on glenoid and increases risk to labrum or cuff directly. The consequences are bad and recovery and post-injury rehabilitation can be long and affect the momentum of the sportsperson’s career . Regular assessment of cuff strength during the pre-season and working on strengthening the shoulder is critical to avoiding injury. Remember that a labral tear or a cuff tear always needs surgery and then long rehabilitation. The knee is quiet commonly injured while playing but there is a higher chance of long-term wear and tear of the patellofemoral joint leading to premature arthritis.. The only prevention that could work is to get a good assessment of patellar tracking as a preseason check and then maintaining a good ideal body mass index and muscle proportion. Finally, remember the old axiom: Prevention is better than cure. Avoid inviting trouble by following these suggestions and you will have an injury-free and long career. Dr. Pradeep Kocheeppan Surgeon & Specialist in Sports Medicine, Apollo Hospital, Bangalore
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June - July 2012
Now Open
Indoor Football Swimming Pool
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Second string had a ball Thanks to BAI calendar T R Balachandran The RSC tournament over the years has become one of the biggest junior ranking tournaments in the country. The massive and well maintained indoor stadium with a provision to lay about 13 courts, resident staff and state officials who are experts at conducting big tournaments and the good timing of the tournament, among others, contribute to this fact. This year, the BAI calendar was released quite late and this resulted in the RSC tournament clashing with the Badminton Asia Youth Under 19 Championships in Korea. This robbed the Cochin tournament of the best junior players in the country. P V Sindhu, Sameer Varma, Pratul Joshi, Rohit Yadav, Arati Sara Sunil, Riya Pillai, Rituparna Das, Ritwika Shivani, Poorvisha S Ram and Hemanagendra were the prominent players who had to give the Cochin tournament a miss. In the absence of the top juniors, Arun George, the local lad won a creditable double crown. He won both the Under 19 Singles and Doubles (in the company of last year’ doubles winner Pranav Satheesh). Arun overcame a fighting Shreyansh Jaiswal in three games in the finals. Shreyansh had laid Arun low in the last occasions these two met. Arun who was taken to three games in the very first round by National Under 17 Champion Harsheel Dani played steadily to clinch the title. Arun is the current Kerala State Men’s Singles Champion and looks set to be the next best Men’s Singles player to emerge from Kerala after H S Prannoy. Arshalan Naqvi won the Under 17 Boys’ Singles beating the National Champ Harsheel Dani in three games. Arshalan’s quarter final match against last year’s Under 15 National champ Talar (ANP) was probably the most absorbing match of the tournament. In a match which lasted an hour Arshalan clinched the third set 22-20 after being down in the decider for most part of the game. In the Under 19 singles, Talar did well to upset Aditya Joshi in another three-setter. Reshma Karthik of Karnataka who joined Air India recently is the current Under 17
Girls’ runner up. She played remarkably consistent Badminton over the three days winning 12 out of the 12 matches played, notching a double crown by winning both the Under 17 and Under 19 Girls’ Singles events. In the Under 17, it was the lanky Vijeta of AP whom she beat in straight games. In the Juniors, she beat 14 year old Vrushali G of AP in three close games. Barring the top four to five girls, the difference in standard among girls aged Under 15, 17 and 19 is very miniscule and on a given day anybody can beat anybody. The talent pool looks pretty good as of now with Reshma, Vijeta, Vrushali, Shikha Gautam, Riya Mookerjee, Malavika J K, Sriyanshi Pardeshi, Karishma Wadkar, Lalita Katre and Rasika Raje showing very good progress over the last couple of years. The standard of paired events continues to lag behind that of singles. In the absence of the top pairs, quite a few Kerala pairs did very well to win the titles in the Under 19 Boys’ and Girls’ Doubles and Under 17 Girls’ Doubles events. Sneha Santhilal combined with Anoosha to win the Under 19 Girls’ Doubles beating Rasika Raje / Anjali Rawat (MAH/GUJ) and Farha Mather & Sruthi K P did well to beat M Archana & Sudha Kalyani (AP) to win the Under 17 Girls’ Doubles. The cynosure of all eyes was the doubles performance by local lad M R Arjun and partner Chirag Shetty of Maharashtra. This pair was the National Runners up in the Under 15 Doubles last year. They did extremely well in the Under 17 Doubles to beat the second seeds Harsheel Dani and
Aditya Joshi in the quarters and reach the finals where they lost in three games to the No 3 seeds Gangadhar Rao & Sanyam Shukla (AP/CG). Arjun & Chirag also did well to reach the semi-finals of the Under 19 Doubles upsetting the top seeded pair of Chaitanya Reddy and K P Chaitanya in the quarters before losing to the third seeds Sharon Raphael & Abhishek Kulkarnin (KER/MAH) in a close three setter. This pair needs all the encouragement that it can get and has the makings of a team which can one day become one of the top pairs in the country. With the RSC tournament, the BAI’s welcome initiative of instituting medical age verification tests for players against whom protests have been made has been put in motion. It is understood that two protests have been lodged during the tournament. The tests are to be done at the SAI Sports Medicine Lab in New Delhi shortly. Several parents are waiting with bated breath for the outcome of the tests and the consequent action by BAI in case the players fail the test. This might have a far reaching - and welcome - impact on the nurturing of genuine talent in Badminton in India. It is heartening to note that many other sports bodies, following the dictates of the Ministry of Sports, have already put in place clear legislation and procedures to tackle this long standing malaise of age fraud. The Question is, what is the deadline for the tests and the results? RESULTS (FINALS) BS U17 Arshalan Naqvi [3] UP bt Harsheel Dani (AI) [1] 21-16 15-21 21-17 GS U17 Reshma Karthik [1] AI bt K. Vijayatha [2] AP 21-16 21-15 GD U19 Anoosha & Sneha Santhilal [3] bt Rasika Raje & Anjali Rawat [6] MAH /GUJ 11-21 21-14 21-15 GD U17 Farha Mather & K. P. Sruthi [1] KER bt M. Archana & Sudha Kalyani [2] AP 21-7 21-17 XD U19 Adrian George & Anjali Rawat GUJ bt Vinay Kumar & Saruni Sharma UP 21-14 15-21 21-19 BS U19 Arun George KER bt Shreyansh Jaiswal [4] CG 13-21 21-17 21-16 GS U19 Reshma Karthik [12] AI bt G. Vrushali [10] AP 14-21 21-11 21-19 BD U17 V. Gangadhara Rao & Sanyam Shukla AP /CG bt M. R. Arjun & Chirag Shetty [4] KER / MAH 13-21 21-18 21-15 BD U19 Arun George & Pranav S [5] KER bt Kulkarni & Sharon Raphel [3] KER/MAH 21-12 21-16
Editor: Diwakar M., Published by Thomas J Kunnath, P4, KSSIDC Industrial Area, Mahadevapura, Bangalore 560 048. Printed at National Printing Press, Koramangala, Bangalore-560 095. Email: badmintonmania@gmail.com