Vol. 1. No. 11
For Private Circulation Only
GUTS A Window into World Badminton
Rupesh
Double without Trouble
November 2008
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The Great Betrayal
WITH promising performances by our international shuttlers – Saina Nehwal, Chetan Anand, Guru Sai Dutt, Aditi Mutatkar, Anand Pawar, and the doubles teams, among others – one would have expected happy tidings for Indian badminton. But developments over the last few months have shown that the system that should fuel the engine has turned into an abject failure. The Badminton Association of India’s national circuit has turned into a farce, with only one senior tournament (the Tata Open in Mumbai) being held this calendar year (ie, since April). Without the presence of a vibrant domestic circuit, how on earth is a healthy crop of young players going to emerge? More importantly, if the BAI is not conducting tournaments, what is it doing? Only one more tournament – the Syed Modi International – is slotted for the rest of this year, but one hears that that too has been postponed! Four tournaments have been dropped. No excuse can justify this. While two senior ranking tournaments in Mumbai and Delhi in January next year were apparently cancelled because organisers could not get sponsors due to the economic downturn, what can explain the lack of tournaments throughout 2008? In a circuit starved of domestic competition, what are the second-rung and
GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
promising players supposed to do? How are players ranked 10 and below going to push for their places in the national team? How are junior players expected to gauge themselves against the seniors? Talking of which, we come to the All India Junior Ranking tournament in Chandigarh. Reports from parents, coaches and players suggest this was the worst conducted tournament in recent times. The main draw was supposed to be released on the evening of the 19th, but it wasn’t ready even by the morning of the 21st. The draw for the doubles was ready only on the evening of the 22nd, which meant players
>> india forward >> were made to compete late night and early morning, when temperatures were near freezing. Doubles players had their first round at 8pm, second round at midnight, and quarterfinals at 2 in the morning. Having finished their matches around 3, they had to wake up in time for a 9.30am start the next day. It was worse for those who had entered multiple events. “The organisers hadn’t allotted proper umpires or line judges for most of the matches,” said one irate parent. “Courts were not given for practise in the mornings and players and parents were waiting outside from 6 in the
LACK of domestic tournaments rob second string players of the opportunity to cross swords with established Indian international players. It also does not give the top players a chance to prove that they deserve their place in the Indian team playing in international tournaments. -Aneesh K A, Kerala state player CLEARLY, the current situation of top tournaments being cancelled is a cause of deep concern. Without tournaments, the talent pool does not have enough opportunity to display its skills or even cause the churn required to have the best talent represent the country. Who are the real stakeholders for Indian badminton? i.e. who will get hurt if Indian badminton slips to the bottom of the heap? Who benefits if it comes to the top 3? Beyond emotions, there is a need to examine this question to figure out who the current system is aligned on the risk/reward front. If nobody todays gets hurt due to badminton’s poor performance, then we need to find a system that has someone accountable – or if not accountable, someone who cares. E.g. With the Apollo Tyres Tennis initiative, Apollo as a company does get “hurt” if , in 2018, tennis in India has not improved significantly. Can we find individuals/corporates who are real stakeholders in the success of Indian badminton? -Saumil Majumdar, MD, Sportz Village LACK of professionalism on the part of BAI has resulted in this situation. There are many public sector companies who would have come forward to sponsor tournaments, if approached in a genuine
Nov '08
morning in the freezing cold. The qualifying draw had three times as many players as the main draw, so why didn’t the organizers increase the number of days for qualifying? After this experience, many promising players may disappear.” This, for a tournament that was supposed to be a selection event for the Dutch and German junior Opens! And why were the three junior tournaments – Patna, Chandigarh and Hyderabad – scheduled with just a day’s gap in between? Surely the BAI didn’t expect all the players and parents to fly from Patna to Chandigarh and then to Hyderabad? Indian badminton, even in the 1930s, had a vibrant domestic circuit. All the top internationals of each era, including Finn Kobbero, Erland Kops, Wong Peng Soon and others, have participated in Invitation tournaments in India. Such tournaments create a buzz around the game, and stimulate media coverage. The lack of domestic competition in 2008 means that we have regressed, and gone backwards in time. If the national body is incompetent to even stage domestic tournaments, it fails to justify its existence. Mail your comments to badmintonmania@ gmail.com and follow the debate online at badmintonmania.wordpress.com
and planned manner. Despite years of experience, BAI has failed to put an effective system in place. The good results shown by Indian players of late are the results of a few private academies and not of BAI. -Markose Bristow, former Indian international EVERY sports association has to be run like a professionally managed company with its organisational structure, an external board for review for accountability and targets of growth. The number of sponsorships that the association can bring together, and tournaments local and international held, can be key indices to evaluate performance of the association. Every sports official’s position in the country must be governed by uniform term-limits and performance review. Uncontrolled tenures in positions of power tend to make officials take their seats for granted and further ensure their continued non-deliverance. Then it takes extremes to rid of them. Every ex-player must have avenues to contribute to the sport, in management/official or coaching positions as means of livelihood. A person who has dedicated his playing years to the sport, will more than likely want to contribute his learning and energy to its development. -Ashok Raman, former US Thomas Cup player THE second string players are left with absolutely no chance to prove their mettle, to see where they stand or to play in domestic or international tournaments. -Thomas Kurian, former Indian international
GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
AS a former player I am upset with the way in which the present domestic circuit of tournaments is scheduled for both senior and junior players. Officials and BAI claim that the schedule is designed taking into consideration international tournaments. But only 8 to 10 top players attend the international circuit. Such players should be required to play the senior nationals and maybe one or two domestic events. It’s best to keep tournaments throughout the year, and stage one major tournament every two months, so that performance can be analysed throughout the year. Regarding the junior events, I’m happy that the number of children has increased and the game is getting popular in all major cities. The main draw can be 64 players instead of 32. Qualifying rounds can be extended by one more day and local participation must be restricted to 16, with selection trials for local entries. We observe that sometimes the local participation is around 300 to 400, which makes the qualifying rounds go late into the night. -Krishna Kumar, former Junior ABC bronze medallist AS of now, there are just four to five tournaments per year, including the nationals. Again, all these tournaments are over within the span of just a month. This means the players are in training for the remaining 11 months. Junior players have many more tournaments and seniors who have made the grade have the option of going abroad to play in tournaments. But players on the verge of breaking into the top level are badly hit by the insufficient number of tournaments. Let me put it this way: India ‘A’ players don’t have enough tournaments. The BAI must conduct more tournaments that are spread over the whole year... Only such a step can provide these players the opportunity to showcase their talent. As of now, if a player misses the tournament season due to illness or injury, he will have to wait an entire year to participate in tournaments. -Prakash Padukone, in an interview to The New Indian Express
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Saina claims India's first world title; Guru sparkles
Photos: Dev S Sukumar
Nov '08
World Junior champion Saina Nehwal and bronze medallist Guru Sai Dutt.
PUNE: China’s Wang Zhengming and India’s Saina Nehwal emerged singles champions at the Yonex Sunrise World Junior Championships (Oct 29-Nov 2); China however suffered twin blows in the doubles finals, which meant that they could take home two gold medals. Malaysia, Singapore and India shared the other spoils between them. By the end of the event there were smiles all around, and even the normally serious Chinese showed their appreciation of a sporting crowd by throwing racquets, towels and bouquets to the spectators. That Saina won India’s first ever world title added to the good cheer, but the crowd was equally appreciative of her Japanese opponent Sayaka Sato. The 3,000-capacity stadium was almost packed and both Saina and Sayaka Sato were welcomed to rapturous applause. The world no.11 was tested in the opening game of her semifinal by her Chinese opponent Wang Shixian, but Sato was bulldozed with typical ruthlessness. “I was upset about the Olympics,” Saina said, referring to her quarterfinal against Yulianti that she lost despite a 11-3 lead in the decider. “So I have been working hard. I lost in the final of the World Juniors in 2006, but luckily I got a chance again, and that too in front of my home crowd.” Zhengming dominates Gao Wang Zhengming shows hints of becoming a sublime player. Moving with the ease of a cat, showing plenty of variety at the net and behind, and possessing a huge smash, Wang might well be the star of the next generation. He gave compatriot and crowd favourite Gao Huan no chance in the final, opening up his opponent’s court and drilling in one smash after another. The Chinese junior national champion now has the world title in his bag. India’s Guru Sai Dutt showed great courage and ability in his stirring run to the semifinals, which he lost to Zhengming in three games. Among the most memorable images was the sight of Guru’s quarterfinal opponent, Park Sung Ming, sprawled on the court in complete exhaustion at the end of their amazing three-setter. The Indian plays a fluid game full of cuts and thrusts; his defence is excellent, and he has a rather sharp smash that he uses sparingly. He also seems to have the stomach for a good fight, and even late into the third set he was unafraid to leap high and smash. He did take the second game off the eventual champion in their semifinal, but Wang Zhengming had too many weapons on the day. “I need to put on more muscle and body weight,” Guru said, reflecting on his performance. “But I’m happy with the way I played here, I have no regrets.” -Dev S Sukumar
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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
Nov '08 July '08
Double agent By TR Balachandran
Nationals and Rupesh engaged him in the most intense match of the tournament. Thomas went on to win the title beating the RUPESH KUMAR, national men’s doubles champion six successive current national champion Chetan Anand in the final. This match times, has reason to feel proud. He became the father of twins made Rupesh realize that he could match the best in the business. Kaustubh and Atmika on October 2 this year. The little ones have But even that did not spur him on to extra effort. inherited sporting genes as Rupesh’s wife Devi Suma was a junior Even the decision not to take up badminton must have badminton player for Kerala, before switching over to academics. been a difficult one for his father. Rupesh got admission in Rupesh equalled Vinod Kumar’s haul of six national men’s Cochin University for Science & Technology, but his father must doubles titles early this year and is one short of Leroy D’Sa’s have been apprehensive as he was not yet showing the kind of record of seven. In fact, apart from partner Sanave Thomas, no commitment so required by champions. He took a gamble and other men’s player has won three consecutive titles. Sanave has got his son admitted in Sacred Hearts College, Ernakulam, for now won four successive titles with Rupesh, apart from the first his degree. This meant that Rupesh had to commute to college title with V Diju. by train, finish college, rush The values Markose Bristow drilled into Rupesh’s childhood was in to the Regional Sports Centre, the sleepy township of Piravom Rupesh included going early to bed on match Kadavanthra, and catch the where his dad was employed days, packing the kit in advance, having an passenger train back to Piravom. in Hindustan Newsprint Ltd. Rupesh feels this stage extra towel grip... These were seemingly trivial HNL had a good indoor stadium (1998) was the turning point details, but Rupesh believes they made a which hosted the 1981 state in his career. RSC had excellent lot of difference to his results championships. Rupesh’s father players, some of them multiple Unnikrishnan Nambiar and national champions. There was brother Manoj were regulars, and Rupesh too picked up the game, George Thomas, Jaseel Ismail, Markose Bristow, Jaison Xavier as he did cricket and football. He hardly ever trained seriously and and others who were the best in the business in the country. They was keener on studies. He was among the toppers in his class, and would engage in furious bet matches for Rs. 25 a match. George, until his 10th standard, did not contemplate taking up the game the senior-most player, would often partner Rupesh and guide him. seriously, although he did win the State sub-junior championship Here Rupesh felt the fire of competitive play, for he had the most in singles. The high points of his growing up years were eating out competitive of badminton players to partner in George Thomas. and generally having a good time rather than aspiring for higher He realised that he saw the game differently and that strokes and honours. But for his father, he would probably have ended up as moves came easily to him. George would often remark about the an engineer. felicity with which Rupesh would create winners. The 1997 Junior Nationals at Chennai was an eye-opener. There were two important events that encouraged him. He By then, Thomas Kurian, one among the quartet of promising partnered Arvind Bhat at the Asian Satellite Championships in youngsters from Kerala, had migrated to the Padukone Academy Bangalore in 2001. They beat the higher rated Sanave Thomas and in Bangalore. He was already a bronze medalist at the 1996 Junior Diju and entered the final, which they lost to Kitipon Kitikul and
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Sudket Prapokamol of Thailand. Although they lost in straight games, they managed to stay in the match despite fearsome hitting by the Thais (Sudket would later become Asian champion in the mixed, with Saralee). The other was the coaching camp under Malaysian doubles legend Razif Sidek. Rupesh would partner Jose George, junior team mate and Thomas Cupper, during this period. Markose Bristow, national doubles champion in 2000, combined with Rupesh in 2002 and this was another turning point. Markose, ever systematic and disciplined, drilled these values into his young partner. It included going to bed early on match days, packing the kit well in advance, having an extra towel grip ready, having food on time, resting sufficiently before matches and switching off the cell phone. These were seemingly trivial details, but Rupesh believes they made a lot of difference to his approach and results. He had the comfort of playing under one of the most senior players in the circuit during that period. The duo won two national titles on the trot, in 2003 and 2004. Indian men’s doubles till then showcased a lot of skill, touch, lifts and drops and was dissimilar to the way international doubles was played. It changed with the arrival of specialist doubles coach Hadi Sugiyanto of Indonesia. Hadi, who was ranked no. 11 in the world in doubles, was a young coach who got along very well with players during his tenure in India. With his vast experience, he could coax the top Indian players to adopt a faster, harder style, akin to true international standards. He broke up the decade-old combination of Sanave/ V Diju and formed two new combinations in Sanave/ Rupesh and Diju / Jaseel. This change was controversial. Hadi believed that by combining Rupesh who was incredible at the net with the fast Sanave, India would have a world class combination. It was hard on Diju who had already won the national doubles with Sanave and reached world no. 15 in the world by then. But for Rupesh it was a case of getting back his partner of his sub-junior days. After hiccups in their first three tournaments which they lost in a trot to Jaseel and Diju, the new combination found its feet and the rest, as they say, is history. Rupesh explains the chemistry between the partners: Sanave is the workhorse, not afraid to keep up the
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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
Nov '08
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barrage of smashes from the back in every rally; he is all speed and power and incredibly fit for an Indian doubles player. With him at the back, Rupesh need not worry about the effort part of the game. His trust in Sanave is total. His job is to give direction to the game and he does it to perfection. Sanave is the silent one and Rupesh keeps chattering to his partner all the time. Both are non-judgmental and console each other in difficult times. Their relationship, Rupesh says, is much more than professional. It just does not matter whether they win or lose; both go out and execute things to the best of their ability. Theirs is a natural bond, one built on trust, developed over the years. Rupesh also sets great store by purity of thought. He feels that he cannot afford any negative thought to sully his thought process, especially before matches. He needs every ounce of mental energy for use during difficult times in a match. Any negative thought or deed or word would rob him of his intensity. The magic of doubles is for two people to play as one unit, to have trust and faith, and to support when things aren’t going well – good lessons for even those who have never heard of badminton! Sanave Thomas (right) and Rupesh Kumar have forged one of India's finest doubles combinations. Photos of Rupesh and Sanave courtesy: BadmintonPhoto. com
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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
Nov '08
'I miss my dad’s cooking' ANAND PAWAR has been training under Morten Frost since early this year. The training has obviously helped, for Anand won three titles this year, including the Hungarian Open in early November. The Mumbaikar tells GUTS life there has been hectic, if sometimes lonely THE training in Aarhus is not very different from what we do at the (Padukone) academy, especially the stroke routines, but in Denmark they do it for shorter periods – and Morten (Frost) insists that we do it as fast as we can, at 110%. All of our sessions are on the court and there is hardly any physical training as the weather is bad and it’s impossible to train outdoors in the winter or even a few months before winter starts. Morten has a Chinese coach as his assistant, who is probably the best I’ve ever seen at multi-feed. He can hit 98 out of 100 shuttles on the line and is so accurate. We do a bit of shadow and agility but that’s about it, the weight training and running is up to the player and nobody is told or forced to do anything, which I feel is quite interesting as it is a totally different approach where everything is left to the coach. But, overall Morten and Prakash have played at the same time and their basic thinking is very similar. I really like training with Morten as his sessions are really well planned and are at full intensity, even though they are hardly for two hours. We are on the court all through and I think this is perfect for the current scoring system. He lays a lot of emphasis on the quality of shots being played since the matches don’t last as long as they used to with the 15 point scoring system and it’s important to focus on each and every shot played and also how well it can be played Anand Pawar in action at the Hungarian Open with the right amount of safety and avoiding unforced errors. Photo courtesy: Seres Lehel/ www.tollasfoto.hu Life is quite hard here, especially since I live alone and it gets future. We also have Home and Away matches so it’s fun playing very boring at times and the weather doesn’t really help. It’s been back home with the crowd support and also when we’re playing an getting dark by about 4pm, which is ridiculous since it’s so different Away match against their home crowd which is usually very noisy. back home. As of now, there isn’t any other foreign player staying at I also played the Dutch, Danish and Hungarian Open. I did the centre so I’m the only one and it gets really lonely at times. But well in Hungary (Oct 30-Nov 2) by winning the tournament. It’s I’ve kind of got used to it now and know my third title win this year and I’m quite I’ve learnt to cook a bit; how to tackle it by keeping myself busy happy with the way I played. I beat Martin I’m not very good yet but I’m getting Delfs in the final. Martin is the son of by going for long walks or just walking around in the super markets and malls, better since I’ve been experimenting Flemming Delfs, the first World Champion which sounds lame but I guess it’s not in 1977 and one of the greats. Flemming a lot and unfortunately I’m the that bad an idea when you are living in a had beaten my dad on way to his World one who has to eat it foreign country all by yourself! I’ve also Championship title at Malmo so I guess it learnt to cook a bit; I’m not very good was good to even things out. I’m sure dad must be happy as well! I yet but I’m getting better since I’ve been experimenting a lot and lost to Andre Kurniawan of Indonesia in the Dutch Open in a really unfortunately I’m the one who has to eat it so hopefully I should close match, 21-18 in the third game. This is the second time I’ve get better soon. I really miss my dad’s cooking since he’s such an lost a close one to him, the first being in the German Open this year awesome cook! with a similar score in the third game. He ended up winning the I have been playing for Odense Badminton Klub in the First tournament beating Chetan Anand in the final. In the Danish Open, Division this season. Odense is the third largest city in Denmark (the I was up against Wong Choong Han of Malaysia (former world no.1) Danish Open was played here as well). This has been the best season and again, lost 21-18 in the third set. for the club so far as we are no.1 in the league and have a very good At the Bank of Scotland International (Nov 19-23), I reached chance to play in the Elite Division next year. I’ve done pretty well the final, where I lost to Rajiv Ouseph. I was a bit tired and slow till now and have won all my matches (both singles and doubles). It’s since I had four tough rounds before that... and two long threea best-of-13 matches with two mixed doubles, two women’s singles, setters against Carl Baxter and Peter Mikkelson, and Rajiv played four men’s single’s , two women’s doubles and three men’s doubles. well in the final. It’s quite exciting as the Danes are really competitive and play really Overall I’m having a good time here and things are going well. hard and give it everything in the team matches which is very good The training here seems to be suiting me and it has been showing to see and very helpful for me as I’m learning to play in that kind in my results which is important so I’m happy and I hope I can get of atmosphere and under pressure so I guess it will help me in the better every day.
Nov '08
GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
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Farewell!
The Chinese teams of the last decade and a half are among the most formidable of all time. We talk of Bradman’s ‘Invincibles’ in cricket, the ‘Galacticos’ of Real Madrid in football, the great ‘Dream Team’ of Magic Johnson and Air Jordan in basketball. On par would be the Chinese Thomas and Uber Cup teams under Li Yongbo. Integral to their fortunes were two-time Olympic gold medalist Zhang Ning, two-time world champions Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen, Gao Ling, multiple winner of every major tournament, and Chen Yu – Thomas Cup winner three successive times: 2004, 2006 and 2008. All of them retired on November 23, on the sidelines of the China Open Super Series in Shanghai. GUTS salutes the heroes. Photos: Xinhua
The happy champion
Dev S Sukumar had the opportunity of conversing with GAO LING at the 2006 Asian Games and watching her at close quarters. A tribute to the legend on her retirement: WATCHING Gao Ling prepare for a match is a revelation. Early on at the Asian Games, she would arrive with partner Huang Sui at the training courts and the two would carry on a conversation for an hour or so while lazily stretching themselves. You think it will change when the more important matches begin – but it doesn’t. There is no change in the absolute nonchalance that Gao and Huang feel… and match after match, there is the same lazy exuberance as they joke with each other on the practice courts while warming up. Remarkably, there is a sudden change while they are on court – Gao is a livewire near the net, while Huang keeps up the barrage from the baseline. The only thing that doesn’t change is Gao’s smile. One of the most recurring images of world badminton is of her smiling even while her team is under tremendous pressure. “It’s better to smile, isn’t it? People like to see smiling faces,” Gao says with a shrug. Gao is a unique phenomenon. In all the talk about the perfection of the Chinese badminton system, we tend to forget that she defies the stereotype of the serious, scowling Chinese badminton player. She is happy enough to smile broadly even during the most crucial moments of a match, even though most coaches might believe smiling on the court betrays a lack of seriousness.
But Gao’s demeanour hides the fact that she was the most accomplished badminton player on the circuit of her time. With six women’s doubles and five mixed doubles titles at the All England, two Olympic golds, and four World Championships titles, she is an all-time legend, not just in badminton but across all sports. So what makes her special? “Nothing, I’m normal, I’m very very lazy,” she laughs. She might brush it off, but her record at the All England, where she has won the women’s doubles with Huang Sui six successive years, is among the most remarkable achievements in contemporary sport. “The All England is lucky for me,” she giggles. “England is the home of badminton – I like to play there. My 2003 World Championship title too was in England.” Gao is probably one of those with vast reserves of talent, who can call up her resources whenever she requires them, and thus is not troubled by the same demons that haunt lesser players. She says she had no role model while growing up, and that the only motivation was to challenge the national players from her province. So removed is she from the concerns of an average doubles player is that it made absolutely no difference to her who her partner was. One might have assumed that
Zhang Jun, with who she won two Olympic gold medals, would be missed after she was paired up with the relatively new entrant Zheng Bo for the Asian Games – but she won the mixed doubles gold at Doha with the same ease that characterised her partnership with Zhang Jun. The only attitude she has on court, she says, is “under pressure, relax, otherwise you tighten up.” Even among the superachieving Chinese team, she and Huang Sui are something of a pair. There are no lastminute suggestions from the coaches, no wishes from fellow players, in fact, nothing to suggest that the two are about to play an important match. It doesn’t matter to the team. They know Gao and Huang are going to win the gold anyway.
Nov '08
GUTS - A Window into World Badminton
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Arvind stumps Persson; Wang wins HONG KONG: Arvind Bhat extended his excellent record against taking place in Aalborg, Denmark. Badminton Europe will Danish players by beating world no.8 Joachim Persson in the first be collecting applications and recommending coaches to the round of the Hong Kong Super Series (Nov 24-30). Bhat beat international badminton school in Aalborg. This will be linked Persson 21-17, 21-17 for his second consecutive win against the to Badminton Europe’s coach education programme and will be Dane. The Bangalorean then dismissed Malaysian Chan Yan Kit 14 the highest level possible to obtain. The international elite coach and 19 before falling in a thriller to Boonsak Ponsana 28-26, 20-22, education is now well under way in Denmark, in the city off Aalborg. 21-14 in the quarterfinals. The tournament was won by Chen Jin, The education started up on the August 25 with 10 students who beat Boonsak in the semis and fancied compatriot Lin Dan in from 10 countries and this has meant that they have a dynamic and the final. developing environment at the coaching academy. The other Indian in the men’s draw, Chetan Anand, weathered a challenge from Petr Koukal in the first round, but fell to Chen Jin Stem cell therapy for Wong 11 and 12 in the second. KUALA LUMPUR: World no.10 Wong Mew Choo is going through Saina Nehwal, like Arvind, too reached the quarterfinal the most difficult period of her badminton career as recurrent but could not get past Hong Kong’s Wang Chen, a player she had injuries continue to haunt her. But the national number one does defeated in the Olympics. Wang edged past 21-15 in the third, and not intend to throw in the towel and is working on regaining full then went on to upset Xie Xingfang in the final. fitness. Mew Choo is carrying knee injuries and also has pain in Wang, born in Shanghai but representing Hong Kong, won her heels. “I intend to resume stem cell injection treatment on my 21-16, 10-21, 21-10 against the world no.5 Xie, but is unlikely to knees. I stopped doing it because of my preparation for the Beijing be back next year to defend her title. The 32-year-old has said this Olympics as I needed to undergo intensive training,” she told a would be her last appearance here before Malaysian newspaper. “But now that the season retirement. Although she has not said around the world is ending and I did not qualify for the Super exactly when she will give up the game, she Series Masters Finals, I want to use this period was adamant she will not be back. “I feel close to retirement and to undergo treatment. It’s better for me to skip the National Grand every match is one step closer to that, so I'm enjoying the games Prix Finals as well.” more than before because of that.” The 25-year-old has struggled to regain her form since making The Indians had gone to Hong Kong after encouraging the country proud with her breakthrough win in the China Open performances at the Li Ning China Open Super Series (Nov 18-23). last year. If Mew Choo were to start the stem cell treatment, she Saina fell in a tremendous first round struggle to World Champion will need to go for inoculations on a frequency depending on her Zhu Lin, (21-6, 12-21, 21-19) while Arvind got past Petr Koukal in recovery rate. the second round before falling to Wen Kai of China in the third. What was most remarkable was that six of the eight women’s singles quarterfinalists were young Chinese; world no.1 Zhou Mi was tripped by young challenger Zhu Jingjing in the quarters and said: “This girl is just amazing, she is never tired and runs around the four corners.” Another youngster, Jiang Yanjiao, won the final over Jingjing, while the men’s title went to Lin Dan, coming after a layoff. Lin thrashed old rival Lee Chong Wei in straight games.
MVSM's exhange programme
KUALA LUMPUR: The MVSM Badminton Academy, founded in January 2008 in Kuala Lumpur, has expressed its interest in hosting players from abroad as part of exchange programmes. Founded by former Malaysian junior player Subramanian Manickam, the academy runs in two centres in Shah Alam. They started with five students at each centre in January and numbers have now increased to 60. Coaches include Manickam, who was trained by Han Jian as a junior player, former national junior player Mohd Nazri Ismail, Govindarajoo, former state player with Pahang, and two trainers, Ravindran and Vivekan. Speaking to GUTS, Manickam talked of the possibility of hosting players from India and other countries. “We can work out details once the interested players or coaches get in touch with us,” he said. “We can offer subsidised accommodation and training, and also arrange for package tours for non-players or parents who accompany them.” Call Subramaniam at +6012-2022064.
Elite coaching gets underway
AARLBORG: New for 2009 is an exciting collaboration between Badminton Europe and the international elite coach education Editor: Dev S. Sukumar. Printed & Published by Thomas J. Kunnath. P4, KSSIDC Industrial Area, Mahadevapura, Bangalore - 560 048. Printed at National Printing Press, Koramangala, Bangalore-560 095. Email: thomas@kunnath.in