Two badminton champions want to make 2010 a memorable year for the country.
For Arvind Bhat and Anup Sridhar, two of India’s top ranked badminton players, it has been a busy beginning to an important year. With the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in sight, the Bangalore-based duo are keeping active on the circuit, juggling international and national tournaments, with hardly a breather. Training sessions are set to get longer and more rigorous closer to the Games, and Bhat is convinced fitness will be key to their game. “As badminton players, we don’t just need to be fit, we need to be super-fit. You don’t stand a chance if your are even 10 per cent below the mark,” he says, while driving home after a full day of training.
Keeping pace with the stiff competition is something Bhat and Sridhar are being careful about. Bhat currently is ranked 36 in the world (his best world ranking was 25 in September 2009), while Sridhar stands at 41 (his best was 24 in March 2008). The pair has been more successful at the national level, pipping each other every few months for the top spot in the national rankings in 2008 and 2009. Training under former national champions Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar has certainly given the duo an edge but close competitors such as Saina Nehwal, Chetan Anand, P Kashyap, among others, keep them on their toes.
“It was a dream come true to win the National Championship in 2005 and 2006,” says 26-year-old Sridhar, who first picked up the racquet when he was 10, and took it up seriously because he was good at it. “That was a turning point in my career. My first win as national champion was a bit of a choker, but it gave me a lot of confidence.”
Bhat echoes that feeling. Winning the national championship last year was a high point for him, as between 2002-08 he reached the finals of the championship four times and lost them all. “Being in the top 20 internationally for a few months also felt great,” adds 30-year-old Bhat.
While Bhat’s foray into badminton was expected, he says it was surprising that he stuck on. “I still remember the summer camp in 1990 where I first trained. I was inspired by my brother Avinash who was already in the circuit and my father, who was a club-level player.” However, he expected to stop playing at some point and planned to do an MBA. His brother quit the sport and became a software engineer. “A decade ago, there weren’t many incentives to take up the sport professionally. But I surprised myself by continuing to play.” In his final year of college, he broke into the Indian team and hasn’t looked back.
It’s easy to sense the camaraderie between Bhat and Sridhar. Bhat elaborates, “We speak the same language, come from the same state, we’ve had the same coaches and we’ve been friends for over 15 years.” Enthusiastic as they both are about badminton’s prospects in India, they point out that it is that much harder to break into the elite. “Badminton is now a definite career option, and it will only grow. Top players are making good money. Saina is in another league but even younger players are doing well for themselves,” says Bhat. They aren’t in the same league as cricketers but are better off than hockey or football players.
Luckily for them, the year is looking good for the Indian badminton team, perhaps the best in a decade. The team beat Japan to take third place in the Thomas Cup qualifiers, the final rounds of which will take place in May at Kuala Lumpur. Says Sridhar, “We have been doing well internationally, which has helped the sport grow .”
Ask them what keeps them going on the court, and they both say extensive travelling had them hooked at first. That enthusiasm didn’t last, however. Bhat chuckles, “It’s now more about winning close matches, and earning the respect of coaches and fellow players.” Sridhar pitches in: “Hard work is extremely important. You have to enjoy what you are doing, or you’ll just get bored.” So, for this talented duo, it’s back to work.
