When Sankar Muthusamy’s father bought the houses to start his badminton business | Rare Techy

When the youth event was canceled for the second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not the best in his mind but the 18-year-old from Tamil Nadu stood on the podium on Sunday.

“At first, I wasn’t thinking about the World Championships because it didn’t happen for two years, and I wasn’t sure if it would be held or not. I was busy with my priorities,” Sankar, who became the brother of the world. number one in August, told PTI from Santander, Spain.

“During the selection tests, I participated, and I thought I would try to do something special when I got to the team. But I didn’t train specifically for the event. In the weeks that For the past five years, I have been busy with senior events but I am happy that I can end my junior days with a world championship medal.”

Last week, the Chennai-based player, who is a national champion at the U-13, U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels, showed his prowess as he undid some of the tough players of the tournament. junior circuit before signing off as runner-up after losing to Chinese Taipei’s Kuo Kuan Lin in the final.

For Sankar, it all started when his father introduced him to sports. At first, he played tennis for a few months, but during the summer vacation, he picked up badminton. Soon, he was training at the Fireball Academy in Chennai’s Annanagar, under Aravindan Samiappan, who was his longtime coach.

Sankar’s father Subramanian encouraged him to leave the school system at an early age and encouraged him to play in the upper level teams and senior venues.

“My father made some bold decisions, one of which was to leave conventional schools and go into sports. Now it seems normal but 7-8 years ago when I was in class 8, he took in this decision, something is ahead of its time,” said Sankar.

“Another thing, I’ve been playing in the senior league for the past 3 years. I’ve started doing well in seniors, and now I’m ranked 110.”

“I played with some experienced players and being in the senior team helped me improve my game. This is one of the reasons why I like it here,” said the 2022 Iran Junior winner. International.

Playing in higher level teams in the country’s premier league means Sankar starts handling losses better.

“From U-13, he played senior players. He could not win all senior matches, but he did not regret. He was ready to learn and that helped him, ” said his sister Lakshmi Priyanka, a doubles athlete.

For Sankar, badminton is a passion. When he’s not training, he likes to watch videos of legends like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei and analyze their games.

“He’s a coach. He likes to be on the court all the time. Throughout the day he’s always thinking and analyzing the game. After a certain point, we get tired but he will continue,” says Lakshmi, who is still present. eye injury treatment.

“Sometimes my Dad and the coaches tell him to rest but he doesn’t like that, he’s not on the court.”

Lakshmi remembers how during the COVID lockdown, Sankar used to do wall work for 4-5 hours in a small room with no Air conditioner or fan.

“It’s very sad to see him do that day in and day out,” he said.

Having left school early, Sankar never had the opportunity to make friends. His father, will always be with him.

In his under 10 days, Sankar would break down in tears every time he went to the competition and received a lot of advice from his father to grow up. equal in victories and defeats.

“He played very aggressively, but he cried and played. My father advised him to stop,” Lakshmi said.

Every sportsperson’s journey is beset with hurdles but Sankar’s father said that money should never be a constraint when it comes to pursuing badminton.

“My father bought 3-4 houses and took a loan to finance our badminton activities. Even now we have a lot of debt and we hope to sort things out after this medal,” he said. at the age of 21.

Taking a cue from his son’s sporting prowess, Subramanian, an employee of the Port Trust, also built a badminton court on the grounds of their house after taking VRS alongside his boy. Later, Subramanian sold the house.

Sankar, taking his first steps in the world of elite badminton, was confident in his game.

“I know that my defense is very good, but I am improving my attack. I still need to learn in all areas,” he said.

“I was out of the top 200 at the beginning of the year but now I’m almost in the top 100. I’m back to world No. 1 and I’m on platinum.

“On the senior tours, I played Super 300s, so now I want to play Super 500s, 750s and 1000s, always wanting to keep improving my score.”