About 10 days before I was set to leave for Beijing, during a regular practice session, I twisted my right ankle while attempting to reach for a shuttle in the front right corner of the court. I was taken to Manipal hospital immediately, and on doing an MRI scan I was told that I had partially ruptured 2 of my ankle ligaments.
I had torn the plantar fascia (arch) in my left foot earlier in the year in March, but that was not a very serious injury and it only kept me out of practice and competition for about 4 weeks. This injury that I had in my ankle, though is pretty much the first real injury that I've had. As I was to leave for Beijing, I figured out some temporary solutions, like taping my right leg from the foot to just below the knee, to compeltely take away any pressure on the ankle. While in Beijing, I also took a cortisone injection in 2 spots in the ankle. A cortisone shot, while it can give temporary relief, is best avoided as it delays complete recovery of the injured area. It only blocks out the pain, it does'nt heal the injury. But since I was in the Olympics, I went ahead with the injection anyway.
Its been 3 months now since I returned from Beijing and I am still not fully healed. I still cannot stretch my right ankle as much as the left. On returning from Beijing, I consulted a couple of doctors and got a schedule of what to do (rest, strengthening etc) but when that did'nt work, I consulted a doctor in Bombay who has put me on a 6 week rehabilitation program. I am 3 weeks through the program as of now and am feeling much better. I feel like this time I am following the right kind of rehab program, even if it ends up taking a bit more time.
Its been very hard for me to skip tournament after tournament,specially since in the last 3 years or so, I have not been away from competition or training for more than a week. I've got so used to travelling around countries,competing, training hard, pushing myself to my physical limits, that I hardly know what to do with all this free time. I'd bought a flat a few months ago and renovating the flat has kept me reasonably busy, but also very stressed out :-)
I've read a lot about athletes who get injured, have a rough time in rehab, but end up coming through it stronger than before. In my case, while I know that I still have a long way to go before I'm competely fit and back on top in the rankings, I feel like I'm realising for the first time how much I love playing badminton. I've always enjoyed playing, of course, but I can feel now that its more than just a career, a job. Its what I was meant to do. And I know that once I am back playing, I will be better than I ever was before.
I'm grateful for all the e-mails wishing me a quick recovery. Its really nice to read messages of support, thanks guys!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
A hard pill to swallow
September 4, 2008:
AS SOME of you may know, I just returned from the Olympics a couple of weeks ago. Though I personally did not do as well as I had hoped, it was still a great experience, to watch so many athletes from so many different sports, all very focused on giving their best in their respective events, quite incomparable with any other event that I have been part of so far in my career.
The Olympics comes only once every four years, so everyone wants to plan well, train hard and generally be in the best possible shape for it. I had hired Tom John as a personal travelling coach from March to August to give me a little bit more push in my preparation for Beijing. I felt like I had been stagnating a bit and wanted to see if working with Tom could give me that extra something that you always need. I felt like the six months went quite well, a couple of injuries notwithstanding. I improved a lot in the physical conditioning department and felt very strong on court.
On arriving at Beijing, I expected to see everything organized perfectly, with maximum efficiency, and I was not surprised that it was exactly like that. From the pick up at the airport, to the check-in at the athletes’ village, everything went fine. On the way to the village, I saw the Bird’s Nest athletics stadium and the Water Cube aquatic centre. I thought both looked amazing but I personally preferred the Water Cube, which looked amazing, especially at night. The volunteers were extremely friendly and helpful, and the accommodation at the village was also superb.
The Indian contingent was staying in the block A-1. It was nice to meet Indians from other sports. It was a really good sign to see that everyone was there to put up their best performance and not just to be a participant.
I was having trouble with my ankle, so I decided to skip the opening ceremony because it would have involved a lot of standing and walking, and while that would not be a problem, I just wanted to avoid any unnecessary strain, especially since I was playing the next day. As far as my matches went, I prepared for them as I would in any other tournament. I got through the first one okay, but I was quite disappointed with the loss to Shoji Sato in the second round. I felt like I didn’t start off very well, and was always struggling to find some rhythm, and never really got going. It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow, to accept that I came away from Beijing without playing my best, which I’d promised to do. When you’ve seen yourself do something in your head so many times, and it doesn’t happen, I guess it takes a while to get over.
When we heard that Abhinav Bindra had won gold in his event, it gave us such a big boost. Just knowing that he’d done so well made us feel like we could as well. Everyone was very happy of course, and we had a small printout congratulating him stuck on our IOA office door.
Another worthwhile thing to talk about was Saina Nehwal’s run to the quarters. She has been an inspiration to all of us in the last few years. She got through a couple of rounds before beating Wang Chen in a very good match. Unfortunately, she missed out in the quarters after being up by quite a bit, but it’s hard to think what she had done wrong. Her opponent Yulianti played unbelievably to get through that match.
To wrap up, I think being in such an event lets you know where you are in comparison with everyone else in the world, and how hard you need to work to get to their level. I think the way the Chinese went about their business, in every sport, was fantastic. I hope we are able to put up a good show in Delhi in two years’ time at the Commonwealth Games. All of us athletes are working very hard towards ensuring a good result. I hope our administrators and officials do the same and organise a great event.
AS SOME of you may know, I just returned from the Olympics a couple of weeks ago. Though I personally did not do as well as I had hoped, it was still a great experience, to watch so many athletes from so many different sports, all very focused on giving their best in their respective events, quite incomparable with any other event that I have been part of so far in my career.
The Olympics comes only once every four years, so everyone wants to plan well, train hard and generally be in the best possible shape for it. I had hired Tom John as a personal travelling coach from March to August to give me a little bit more push in my preparation for Beijing. I felt like I had been stagnating a bit and wanted to see if working with Tom could give me that extra something that you always need. I felt like the six months went quite well, a couple of injuries notwithstanding. I improved a lot in the physical conditioning department and felt very strong on court.
On arriving at Beijing, I expected to see everything organized perfectly, with maximum efficiency, and I was not surprised that it was exactly like that. From the pick up at the airport, to the check-in at the athletes’ village, everything went fine. On the way to the village, I saw the Bird’s Nest athletics stadium and the Water Cube aquatic centre. I thought both looked amazing but I personally preferred the Water Cube, which looked amazing, especially at night. The volunteers were extremely friendly and helpful, and the accommodation at the village was also superb.
The Indian contingent was staying in the block A-1. It was nice to meet Indians from other sports. It was a really good sign to see that everyone was there to put up their best performance and not just to be a participant.
I was having trouble with my ankle, so I decided to skip the opening ceremony because it would have involved a lot of standing and walking, and while that would not be a problem, I just wanted to avoid any unnecessary strain, especially since I was playing the next day. As far as my matches went, I prepared for them as I would in any other tournament. I got through the first one okay, but I was quite disappointed with the loss to Shoji Sato in the second round. I felt like I didn’t start off very well, and was always struggling to find some rhythm, and never really got going. It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow, to accept that I came away from Beijing without playing my best, which I’d promised to do. When you’ve seen yourself do something in your head so many times, and it doesn’t happen, I guess it takes a while to get over.
When we heard that Abhinav Bindra had won gold in his event, it gave us such a big boost. Just knowing that he’d done so well made us feel like we could as well. Everyone was very happy of course, and we had a small printout congratulating him stuck on our IOA office door.
Another worthwhile thing to talk about was Saina Nehwal’s run to the quarters. She has been an inspiration to all of us in the last few years. She got through a couple of rounds before beating Wang Chen in a very good match. Unfortunately, she missed out in the quarters after being up by quite a bit, but it’s hard to think what she had done wrong. Her opponent Yulianti played unbelievably to get through that match.
To wrap up, I think being in such an event lets you know where you are in comparison with everyone else in the world, and how hard you need to work to get to their level. I think the way the Chinese went about their business, in every sport, was fantastic. I hope we are able to put up a good show in Delhi in two years’ time at the Commonwealth Games. All of us athletes are working very hard towards ensuring a good result. I hope our administrators and officials do the same and organise a great event.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Working with Tom John
AS some of you may know, I’ve hired a personal coach, Tom John, for six months leading up to the Olympics. I’ve been working with him for a little over two months now. The official list of qualifiers for the Olympics is out and I’m on it, so we’re training and looking to peak at the Olympics.
I’d been thinking about hiring a personal coach for a while now. I felt that since the World Championships last August, I hadn’t really continued on the same path and was beginning to stagnate. There were, of course, some things that were out of my control, like the injury to my foot, which started to get really bad around September/October last year. But I still felt like I needed to shake things up a bit and try something different. I had a couple of people in mind who I wanted to work with. Of course, ideally I would have either Prakash Padukone or Vimal Kumar travel with me, but since they have to take care of the academy, that wasn’t a possibility. I’d talked to Jim Laugesen, a former player from Denmark, about the possibility of training with him and he was quite keen on it. I’d also worked with Tom John over brief periods some years ago and I thought he could also help me. In the end, I went with Tom John because I needed to be based in India in this period leading up to the Olympics and he was better suited to Indian conditions, having been in India many times in the past.
We had a mixed sort of start as a team. I had an ordinary German and All England Open but was beginning to play better and better towards the end of my stay at the All England. As it turned out, I beat Shoji Sato of Japan in the first round in the Swiss Open. I did’nt start out very well and was down 14-19 in the first. I was able to really raise my level from then on and equalised at 19-19. He got a net cord at that stage and went up to 20-19 but I was feeling quite good having won a few points in a row and I went on to win the game at 22-20. I dropped the second game but recovered in time to take the third.
I felt good about my next round against Taufik as I’d beaten him the last time we played. But I got injured in the first game itself. It felt quite strange, I’d never been injured before and one moment I was playing and the next I felt and heard a loud snap in my left foot. I couldn’t put my foot down at all after that and had to concede. I had a strange plane ride back to Bangalore on a wheelchair, and crutches where there was no ramp for the wheelchair.
Since recovering from the injury, I’ve mostly been doing weight training for the upper body and a lot of cycling since I didn’t want to risk injuring the foot further. I’ve been amazed at how without running or playing Tom has managed to keep me fit through the last few weeks. I’ve just started to play again and I feel a bit stronger and fitter. It’ll take a couple more weeks before the physical work that I’ve done is translated to the court but when it does, I’ll be better than before.
So, as of now, the plan is to work more on physical conditioning for the next two weeks or so and then get on to more on court work. I’ll write another update in a few weeks’ time :)
-Anup
I’d been thinking about hiring a personal coach for a while now. I felt that since the World Championships last August, I hadn’t really continued on the same path and was beginning to stagnate. There were, of course, some things that were out of my control, like the injury to my foot, which started to get really bad around September/October last year. But I still felt like I needed to shake things up a bit and try something different. I had a couple of people in mind who I wanted to work with. Of course, ideally I would have either Prakash Padukone or Vimal Kumar travel with me, but since they have to take care of the academy, that wasn’t a possibility. I’d talked to Jim Laugesen, a former player from Denmark, about the possibility of training with him and he was quite keen on it. I’d also worked with Tom John over brief periods some years ago and I thought he could also help me. In the end, I went with Tom John because I needed to be based in India in this period leading up to the Olympics and he was better suited to Indian conditions, having been in India many times in the past.
We had a mixed sort of start as a team. I had an ordinary German and All England Open but was beginning to play better and better towards the end of my stay at the All England. As it turned out, I beat Shoji Sato of Japan in the first round in the Swiss Open. I did’nt start out very well and was down 14-19 in the first. I was able to really raise my level from then on and equalised at 19-19. He got a net cord at that stage and went up to 20-19 but I was feeling quite good having won a few points in a row and I went on to win the game at 22-20. I dropped the second game but recovered in time to take the third.
I felt good about my next round against Taufik as I’d beaten him the last time we played. But I got injured in the first game itself. It felt quite strange, I’d never been injured before and one moment I was playing and the next I felt and heard a loud snap in my left foot. I couldn’t put my foot down at all after that and had to concede. I had a strange plane ride back to Bangalore on a wheelchair, and crutches where there was no ramp for the wheelchair.
Since recovering from the injury, I’ve mostly been doing weight training for the upper body and a lot of cycling since I didn’t want to risk injuring the foot further. I’ve been amazed at how without running or playing Tom has managed to keep me fit through the last few weeks. I’ve just started to play again and I feel a bit stronger and fitter. It’ll take a couple more weeks before the physical work that I’ve done is translated to the court but when it does, I’ll be better than before.
So, as of now, the plan is to work more on physical conditioning for the next two weeks or so and then get on to more on court work. I’ll write another update in a few weeks’ time :)
-Anup
Friday, March 21, 2008
Anup Sridhar ranked career-high No. 24 in the World
According to the latest world rankings released by BWF yesterday, Anup Sridhar contiues to be the top Indian player at No. 24 (34342 points). Anup shot up 5 places from last week thanks to his performance at the Swiss Open. Prior to this Anup had reached No. 25 in November last year.
Click here to check the world rankings.
Click here to check the world rankings.
Anup Sridhar engages veteran badminton coach Tom John
Anup Sridhar, India's top badminton player, has recently signed on veteran badminton coach Tom John as his personal traveling coach. John comes with over two decades of coaching experience in the UK and on international badminton circuits ...Click here for the official press release.
Wilson Swiss Open Super Series 2008
In the first round, Anup Sridhar, the lone Indian male in the main draw, beat World No. 17 Shoji Sato from Japan. Anup now leads the Head-to-head 3:2.
In the first game, Anup trailed 14-19 at one stage but came back strong to win five points in succession, when it mattered most, to level the game at 19-19. The momentum was clearly in Anup's favor at that point and he went on to wrap up the first game 22-20. In the second game, Shoji got the early momentum on his side, by winning the first five points, and used that to wrap up the game 13-21. In the decider, the tables turned and Anup got the early momentum. He used it to stay well ahead of Shoji throughout the game and eventually wrapped up the game and match 21-14.
In the second round, Anup Sridhar (29) played World No. 7 Taufik Hidayat. Twelve minutes into the first game, with the score reading 11-9 in Taufik's favor, Anup injured his foot and was forced to retire.
Anup’s next tournament is the India Open Grand Prix Gold at Hyderabad from 1-6th April.
In the first game, Anup trailed 14-19 at one stage but came back strong to win five points in succession, when it mattered most, to level the game at 19-19. The momentum was clearly in Anup's favor at that point and he went on to wrap up the first game 22-20. In the second game, Shoji got the early momentum on his side, by winning the first five points, and used that to wrap up the game 13-21. In the decider, the tables turned and Anup got the early momentum. He used it to stay well ahead of Shoji throughout the game and eventually wrapped up the game and match 21-14.
In the second round, Anup Sridhar (29) played World No. 7 Taufik Hidayat. Twelve minutes into the first game, with the score reading 11-9 in Taufik's favor, Anup injured his foot and was forced to retire.
Anup’s next tournament is the India Open Grand Prix Gold at Hyderabad from 1-6th April.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Yonex All England Super Series 2008
Anup Sridhar, World No. 26 and the only Indian male in the main draw, played Dan Lin, the World No. 1 from China, in the first round of the Yonex All England Open Super Series 2008. Anup started off well winning the first game 21-16, but then Lin Dan came back strong to take the next two games 21-8 21-11.
Anup feels he is getting closer and is optimistic of beating Dan Lin soon. Anup has good reason to feel that way as he was the only player, other than Jin Chen who beat Dan Lin in the finals, to take a game off Dan Lin.
Anup's next tournament is the Wilson Swiss Open Super Series 2008, which begins tomorrow. Anup is again the only Indian male in the main draw and plays World No. 17 Shoji Sato from Japan in the first round.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Yonex German Open 2008
Anup Sridhar, seeded No. 9, faced 2004 Athens Olympic Games Silver medalist, Korean Seung Mo Shon, in the first round of the German Open. Anup, who just a few days earlier had captained India to a fifth place finish in the Thomas Cup Asia round in Vietnam, lost to Seung, who was part of the Korean team that finished second in the same tournament. Seung eventually went on to reach the semi-finals.
Anup's next tournament is the Yonex All England Super Series 2008 which begins from today. He is the only Indian male in the main draw and plays World No. 1, Lin Dan, in the first round tomorrow. The two have met twice before – 2007 German Open and 2007 World Championships – with Lin Dan winning both.
‘Tricky start for holder Lin Dan at All England champs’ - Reuters
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
2008 Thomas & Uber Cup Asian Qualifying Rounds
Anup Sridhar led the Indian men’s team – which consisted of Arvind Bhat, Chetan Anand, Akshay Dewalkar, V. Diju, P. Kashyap, Rupesh Kumar, Sanave Thomas and J.B.S. Vidyasagar – to a fifth place finish at the Thomas Cup Asian qualifying round held at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam from 19th – 24th Feb. Being the top ranked Indian player, Anup consistently played against higher ranked opponents. His big win came in the last tie against
A summary of his matches:
League match against
Anup Sridhar (27) beat Wajid Ali (167) in straight sets – 21-16 21-15 – wrapping up the match in 30 min. Head-2-Head Anup leads 2:0.
League match against
Anup Sridhar (27) lost to Shoji Sato (17) – 17-21 15-21 in 35 minutes. Head-2-Head Anup and Shoji are tied at 2:2.
Quarterfinal match against
Anup Sridhar (27) lost to Chong Wei Lee (2) – 15-21 14-21 in 28 minutes. Head-2-Head Chong leads 2:0.
5th – 8th place match against
Anup Sridhar (27) lost to Yen Hui Kendrick Lee (20) – 16-21 14-21 in 24 minutes. Head-2-Head Yen leads 2:0.
5th – 8th place match against
Anup Sridhar (27) beat Yan Kit Chan (19) – 21-16 21-17 in 26 minutes. Head-2-Head Anup leads 1:0.
Anup’s next tournament is the Yonex German Open at Rhein-Ruhr
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
2008 Senior National Badminton Championships - Goa from 19-27January
Anup Sridhar came into the tournament immediately after playing the Proton Malaysia Open Super Series 2008 where he reached the pre-quarter finals, losing to Hyun Ii Lee who was the eventual runner-up.
Anup had little time to shed off the travel fatigue and jet lag in pursuit of the title of National Champion (which has little significance beyond the title). Anup was the top seeded player in the tournament as he was the No. 1 ranked player in
Anup’s next tournament is the Thomas Cup in
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Wrap of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 ...
2007 was an eventful and successful year for Anup Sridhar as he ended the year as the top Indian badminton player with a career-high world ranking of 25.
Having reached the semifinals at the German Open and the Asian Continental Championships and the quarterfinals at the Thailand Open and, most importantly, at the 2007 World Championships, the next year holds much promise for this budding shuttler.
The next few months are crucial for Anup as he aims to confirm his place at the Beijing Olympics. Possessing the incredible ability to raise his game when it really matters, we strongly believe that Anup has the potential to be amongst the best in the world and that he is a strong medal contender at
Go Anup Go!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
World Championships '07- Part 2
I wrote in the previous post how the crowd in my match against Taufik Hidayat was mostly against me. In the next match (last 16) against Hafiz Hashim, a Malaysian, the crowd was even noisier and of course supporting him.
I'd recovered quite well from my match the previous day. I felt a little stiff in my legs when I woke up but I had a warm up training session with Saina and our coach and felt much better after that. I was on only at 8 in the evening so I had plenty of time to rest, eat lunch and do some stretching exercises once more. I also found time to watch a couple of episodes of 'House'. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys medical drama and comedy. Hugh Laurie is insane!
I'd played Hafiz once before in 2005 and had lost quite badly. But coming off a win agaisnt Taufik, I was feeling very confident. I started off well, took an early lead, and won the first game 21-19. I was able to get off to a good start in the second game as well but I had trouble with the air conditioning in the latter half of the second game and made too many unforced errors. I lost the second 18-21. I was quite happy with my fitness and felt confident that I could keep up in the third game, and I also saw that Hafiz was tiring towards the end of the second. He was trying risky shots, taken more time than usual between rallies and breathing hard. That gave me even more of a mental boost. I was able to start well once again, changed ends at 11-8 and won 21-15.
Of course I was happy that I won and had reached the quarterfinal, but I was also thinking about my next match against Lin Dan. I'd lost to him twice before and was looking forward to playing him, especially since I was playing well. I guess I did'nt recover too well from my match against Hafiz because I was cramping again and woke up the next morning with sore and stiff legs. I did my usual warm up in the morninig and felt a little better. I was on at about 3 in the afternoon this time so I did'nt get to watch any more 'House', but I will catch up with that later.
The difference between playing someone like Lin Dan and anyone else, is that it takes just that little bit more to win a rally. I knew this as I'd played him before but it still takes a little while to get used to it. I was down in the early part of the first game but I recovered to get to game point at 20-19. In hindsight, I guess I should've waited a lttle more in that rally for a good opportunity before trying to finish it off, but then its much harder to think at that time. I let the game slip away 20-22 and never really recovered from that. In the second I could feel that I was'nt able to keep up the pace any more. I was also at the fast end in the second game so that meant that I had to attack a lot more than in the first, but I was'nt able to do it. I lost the second 9-21.
Looking back, of course I am happy about the result, it is my best result so far, but I'm not so happy about the way it ended. I feel like I can do quite a bit better than this. There are still a lot of things I have to work on and theres a lot of room for improvement. I'm working harder than ever before now, and hopefully that pays off soon. I'll be playing the Chinese Taipei Open next from 18-23 September and then heading to Denmark from there. I'll be around Europe for about 2 months or so and return in december. I will be training with Morten Frost while in Denmark and Im looking forward to learning from him. If I'm allowed to take my computer with me ( with these new security regulations, I dont know ) I'll have regular updates from Taipei and then Europe.
I'd recovered quite well from my match the previous day. I felt a little stiff in my legs when I woke up but I had a warm up training session with Saina and our coach and felt much better after that. I was on only at 8 in the evening so I had plenty of time to rest, eat lunch and do some stretching exercises once more. I also found time to watch a couple of episodes of 'House'. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys medical drama and comedy. Hugh Laurie is insane!
I'd played Hafiz once before in 2005 and had lost quite badly. But coming off a win agaisnt Taufik, I was feeling very confident. I started off well, took an early lead, and won the first game 21-19. I was able to get off to a good start in the second game as well but I had trouble with the air conditioning in the latter half of the second game and made too many unforced errors. I lost the second 18-21. I was quite happy with my fitness and felt confident that I could keep up in the third game, and I also saw that Hafiz was tiring towards the end of the second. He was trying risky shots, taken more time than usual between rallies and breathing hard. That gave me even more of a mental boost. I was able to start well once again, changed ends at 11-8 and won 21-15.
Of course I was happy that I won and had reached the quarterfinal, but I was also thinking about my next match against Lin Dan. I'd lost to him twice before and was looking forward to playing him, especially since I was playing well. I guess I did'nt recover too well from my match against Hafiz because I was cramping again and woke up the next morning with sore and stiff legs. I did my usual warm up in the morninig and felt a little better. I was on at about 3 in the afternoon this time so I did'nt get to watch any more 'House', but I will catch up with that later.
The difference between playing someone like Lin Dan and anyone else, is that it takes just that little bit more to win a rally. I knew this as I'd played him before but it still takes a little while to get used to it. I was down in the early part of the first game but I recovered to get to game point at 20-19. In hindsight, I guess I should've waited a lttle more in that rally for a good opportunity before trying to finish it off, but then its much harder to think at that time. I let the game slip away 20-22 and never really recovered from that. In the second I could feel that I was'nt able to keep up the pace any more. I was also at the fast end in the second game so that meant that I had to attack a lot more than in the first, but I was'nt able to do it. I lost the second 9-21.
Looking back, of course I am happy about the result, it is my best result so far, but I'm not so happy about the way it ended. I feel like I can do quite a bit better than this. There are still a lot of things I have to work on and theres a lot of room for improvement. I'm working harder than ever before now, and hopefully that pays off soon. I'll be playing the Chinese Taipei Open next from 18-23 September and then heading to Denmark from there. I'll be around Europe for about 2 months or so and return in december. I will be training with Morten Frost while in Denmark and Im looking forward to learning from him. If I'm allowed to take my computer with me ( with these new security regulations, I dont know ) I'll have regular updates from Taipei and then Europe.
Friday, September 07, 2007
World Championships 2007
As some of you may know, I reached the quarterfinals of the World Badminton Championships held at kuala lumpur betwee 13th and 19th August 2007. This is the best result so far in my career.
I had been planning for about a month before the tournament to get to KL as early as possible so I can get adjusted to the climate, food and if possible get to practice in the tournament hall. So when I contacted Lee Tseun Seng of KL Racket Club, a private badminton club in Kuala Lumpur and they said I could train with them, I took off as soon as I could, about 11 days before the tournament. Players in the club included Tseun Seng and Sairul of Malaysia and Andrew Smith of England, all of whom are higher ranked than me.
Usually for me, in the last couple of weeks leading up to a tournament, I feel better if I dont cut down on training too much, but cut down on playing instead. I might only play about 1 1\2 hours instead of the usual 3 or so. I dont cut down too much on the running sessions and weight training. I've found that this works for me.
I was drawn to play Juergen Koch of Austria in the first round. He'd beaten me once before but I knew I had a very good chance in this match as I was feeling very good physically. I won 21-15,21-19. Did'nt really play too well, cos its hard to get adjusted to the court conditions when theres so much wind in the hall. But I guess all that matters is that I won. Usually when you get through the first round of any tournament, thats when you feel like you're well and truly in and thats exactly how I felt. I had a day off before second round match against Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia. He does'nt need too much introduction, does he?
I'd played Taufik twice before, and though I'd lost both in straight games, I had come very close. Coming close and actually winning are two completely different things, and I knew it. But I felt that if I was able to keep calm towards the last few points and not get anxious, I could at least win 1 game off him.I had talked to the Indian national coach, P.Gopichand and we'd decided how I needed to play. Our match was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. but ended up starting at 2:45 p.m. because the previous matches on our court took longer than expected. This messed up my warm up, and I was starting to feel hungry as well but it was the same for Taufik so I was'nt too worried.
I won 21-14,24-26,22-20 in about 75 minutes. I was dehydrated after the match and cramped up in my legs, hands and abdomen. So while I was happy at winning the match, I was thinking about my next match and if I would recover in time for it. Luckily for me I only had to play at 8 p.m. the next day so that gave me more than a day to recover. That turned out to be more than enough. When I woke up the next day, I felt fine, a little stiff but that was to be expected. I went to the practice hall for a warm up, and I felt fine.
One thing that I experienced for the first time was playing a big match in a country like Malaysia. Badminton is very popular in Indonesia and Malaysia and playing in these countries is unbelievable. The crowd gets so loud (against me on this occasion, but thats fine) and it is such a great atmosphere to play in. This is what we play for, to play in front of a big, noisy crowd and it was a great experience.
I had been planning for about a month before the tournament to get to KL as early as possible so I can get adjusted to the climate, food and if possible get to practice in the tournament hall. So when I contacted Lee Tseun Seng of KL Racket Club, a private badminton club in Kuala Lumpur and they said I could train with them, I took off as soon as I could, about 11 days before the tournament. Players in the club included Tseun Seng and Sairul of Malaysia and Andrew Smith of England, all of whom are higher ranked than me.
Usually for me, in the last couple of weeks leading up to a tournament, I feel better if I dont cut down on training too much, but cut down on playing instead. I might only play about 1 1\2 hours instead of the usual 3 or so. I dont cut down too much on the running sessions and weight training. I've found that this works for me.
I was drawn to play Juergen Koch of Austria in the first round. He'd beaten me once before but I knew I had a very good chance in this match as I was feeling very good physically. I won 21-15,21-19. Did'nt really play too well, cos its hard to get adjusted to the court conditions when theres so much wind in the hall. But I guess all that matters is that I won. Usually when you get through the first round of any tournament, thats when you feel like you're well and truly in and thats exactly how I felt. I had a day off before second round match against Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia. He does'nt need too much introduction, does he?
I'd played Taufik twice before, and though I'd lost both in straight games, I had come very close. Coming close and actually winning are two completely different things, and I knew it. But I felt that if I was able to keep calm towards the last few points and not get anxious, I could at least win 1 game off him.I had talked to the Indian national coach, P.Gopichand and we'd decided how I needed to play. Our match was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. but ended up starting at 2:45 p.m. because the previous matches on our court took longer than expected. This messed up my warm up, and I was starting to feel hungry as well but it was the same for Taufik so I was'nt too worried.
I won 21-14,24-26,22-20 in about 75 minutes. I was dehydrated after the match and cramped up in my legs, hands and abdomen. So while I was happy at winning the match, I was thinking about my next match and if I would recover in time for it. Luckily for me I only had to play at 8 p.m. the next day so that gave me more than a day to recover. That turned out to be more than enough. When I woke up the next day, I felt fine, a little stiff but that was to be expected. I went to the practice hall for a warm up, and I felt fine.
One thing that I experienced for the first time was playing a big match in a country like Malaysia. Badminton is very popular in Indonesia and Malaysia and playing in these countries is unbelievable. The crowd gets so loud (against me on this occasion, but thats fine) and it is such a great atmosphere to play in. This is what we play for, to play in front of a big, noisy crowd and it was a great experience.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Hello everyone
Its been a long time since I wrote. As some of you may know, I had a good run in the recently concluded World Championships in Kuala Lumpur. I have got a few requests asking me to continue writing, so I will. Maybe it wont be so much about the matches, but more about my general experience. There should be a new post in a few days.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Asian Games- I
I'm back to writing again after a long break. I'm trying to figure out how to manage my time more efficiently so I can find more time to write so forgive me for the delay.
The Asian Games recently came to an end and India did quite well. I'm not too sure about how we did compared with the previous edition in Busan,Korea but I think we were better this time around.
As far as badminton goes, the team championships actually started on 30th November, a day before the opening ceremony. This seemed strange to me but there were some other sports that started on the same day. There were a total of 9 countries in the team championships with 3 groups of 3 teams each. India was placed in Group A along with China and Indonesia! To top it off, the schedule was such that we played both China and Indonesia on the same day! This was extremely surprising considering our creditable performance in the Thomas Cup and Commonwealth Games, specially since the other groups were much easier than ours. But then again, IBF or BWF or whatever it is called now has a history of making clueless decisions so this crazy draw did'nt really surprise me too much.
So, it was China that we were up against on 30th Morning. We lost 0-5, but considering that China won all their matches in the Thomas Cup without dropping a single match, it was always going to be very hard. There were a few games where we came close, with me losing my first game against World no.1 Lin Dan 19-21 and Kashyap losing his second game to Chen Jin 19-21.
Later that day we played Indonesia. Once again we lost 0-5 but it was a much tougher fight than the score suggests. I played first singles against Taufik Hidayat, the reigning Olympic Champion and lost 21-23,16-21. I was extremely close in the first game and really should have won it. I get a little too anxious in the end and Taufik was getting better and better. I was close in the second game as well until 16-16 but then again made a few unforced errors which I could'nt afford and lost it at 16-21.
Kashyap then played a very good match against Simon Santoso and almost won but Simon proved to be better at the crucial points and ended up winning 21-16 in the third game. Both out mens doubles pairs also gave a very tough fight to the Indonesian pairs and lost in 3 games.
I enjoyed playing Lin Dan and Taufik and found that while playing at this high level, I cant afford to give away easy points. It becomes too hard to fight back if I give away even a few unforced errors in a game. Also, its extremely important to be able to keep focused and have a clear mind when the score is close and the game is coming to an end. I found both Lin Dan and Taufik raising their game and playing at a faster pace towards the end of the game, just when they needed to.
The opening ceremony was held the next day on 1st November. It was the first time I was going to an opening ceremony of a Multi Sport event like this since at the Commonwealth games in March, I did'nt attend the opening as I had a match on the next day. It turned out to be very disappointing. All athletes were taken to a gym where we sat waiting for about 3 1/2 hours. There were a couple of big screens where we could watch the ceremony going on in a stadium next door. To be frank, it was pretty boring to watch on the screen, could'nt understand half the stuff that was going on. But it was a chance to catch up with Indian athletes from other sports so it was'nt a total loss. We were eventually led to the stadium where we walked around the stadium once and waited for the other teams to come in. After all the teams were in, there were a few speeches made, not really sure about what but they seemed pretty long cos we were standing the whole time. The fireworks display towards the end of the ceremony was very nice, as expected, so that cheered us up. After the ceremony we were making our way along with all the other athletes to the exit when it actually started to rain. Considering the fact that we were in a desert, it was a big surprise. The rain started off slowly but was soon a heavy downpour. All of us got wet, were led around in circles until we finally spotted the buses and managed to get in. We were all completely drenched in the rain and it was also very cold so it was'nt a happy end to my first opening ceremony. I dont think I'll be attending too many of those in the future.
The individual events started off on the 5th of December and got over on the 9th. I'll write about that in the next post. Hope you had fun reading this one. Please leave your comments!
The Asian Games recently came to an end and India did quite well. I'm not too sure about how we did compared with the previous edition in Busan,Korea but I think we were better this time around.
As far as badminton goes, the team championships actually started on 30th November, a day before the opening ceremony. This seemed strange to me but there were some other sports that started on the same day. There were a total of 9 countries in the team championships with 3 groups of 3 teams each. India was placed in Group A along with China and Indonesia! To top it off, the schedule was such that we played both China and Indonesia on the same day! This was extremely surprising considering our creditable performance in the Thomas Cup and Commonwealth Games, specially since the other groups were much easier than ours. But then again, IBF or BWF or whatever it is called now has a history of making clueless decisions so this crazy draw did'nt really surprise me too much.
So, it was China that we were up against on 30th Morning. We lost 0-5, but considering that China won all their matches in the Thomas Cup without dropping a single match, it was always going to be very hard. There were a few games where we came close, with me losing my first game against World no.1 Lin Dan 19-21 and Kashyap losing his second game to Chen Jin 19-21.
Later that day we played Indonesia. Once again we lost 0-5 but it was a much tougher fight than the score suggests. I played first singles against Taufik Hidayat, the reigning Olympic Champion and lost 21-23,16-21. I was extremely close in the first game and really should have won it. I get a little too anxious in the end and Taufik was getting better and better. I was close in the second game as well until 16-16 but then again made a few unforced errors which I could'nt afford and lost it at 16-21.
Kashyap then played a very good match against Simon Santoso and almost won but Simon proved to be better at the crucial points and ended up winning 21-16 in the third game. Both out mens doubles pairs also gave a very tough fight to the Indonesian pairs and lost in 3 games.
I enjoyed playing Lin Dan and Taufik and found that while playing at this high level, I cant afford to give away easy points. It becomes too hard to fight back if I give away even a few unforced errors in a game. Also, its extremely important to be able to keep focused and have a clear mind when the score is close and the game is coming to an end. I found both Lin Dan and Taufik raising their game and playing at a faster pace towards the end of the game, just when they needed to.
The opening ceremony was held the next day on 1st November. It was the first time I was going to an opening ceremony of a Multi Sport event like this since at the Commonwealth games in March, I did'nt attend the opening as I had a match on the next day. It turned out to be very disappointing. All athletes were taken to a gym where we sat waiting for about 3 1/2 hours. There were a couple of big screens where we could watch the ceremony going on in a stadium next door. To be frank, it was pretty boring to watch on the screen, could'nt understand half the stuff that was going on. But it was a chance to catch up with Indian athletes from other sports so it was'nt a total loss. We were eventually led to the stadium where we walked around the stadium once and waited for the other teams to come in. After all the teams were in, there were a few speeches made, not really sure about what but they seemed pretty long cos we were standing the whole time. The fireworks display towards the end of the ceremony was very nice, as expected, so that cheered us up. After the ceremony we were making our way along with all the other athletes to the exit when it actually started to rain. Considering the fact that we were in a desert, it was a big surprise. The rain started off slowly but was soon a heavy downpour. All of us got wet, were led around in circles until we finally spotted the buses and managed to get in. We were all completely drenched in the rain and it was also very cold so it was'nt a happy end to my first opening ceremony. I dont think I'll be attending too many of those in the future.
The individual events started off on the 5th of December and got over on the 9th. I'll write about that in the next post. Hope you had fun reading this one. Please leave your comments!
Monday, October 02, 2006
Some disappointing results
I’m finally down to writing my thoughts on my results at the Korea Open, Hong Kong Open and the World Championships.
Starting off with the Korea Open: I played Li Yu from China in the first round. I won 22-20,18-21,21-19. I didn’t feel I played too well in this match, but the conditions were very tough -- with a lot of wind in the hall and difficult lighting to get used to.
I played Dicky Palyama of Holland in the second round and I felt pretty good about this match, considering I’d beaten him a few weeks ago in Singapore. But this time I lost 21-16,14-21,18-21. I was okay in the first game but it started to go wrong right from the start of the second. Dicky was better prepared to play me this time and he anticipated a lot of my smashes. I should still have won, but with the new scoring system sometimes the game gets over before you realise what happened.
At Hong Kong, I played Yogendran Krishnan of Malaysia in the first round. I lost 21-14,17-21,14-21. Again, I started off well, but I wasn’t able to keep it up. Yogendran also had a good match, and he was pulling off pretty much any stroke he played.
Injury strikes
The World Championships returned to Spain this year after a gap of five years. It was held in Seville in 2001.
The team had had a camp of about two weeks in Hyderabad before leaving for Seville. Unfortunately, a few days before we were to leave, I hurt my right calf muscle. Doctors in Hyderabad told me there was no muscle tear but that it was a case of acute strain of the muscle.
As a result I wasn’t really able to do any training for about a week before my match. I took a lot of physiotherapy treatment in Hyderabad and on reaching Madrid. This didn’t have the desired effect though, and I wasn’t 100% while playing my first round against Liao Sheng Shiun of Chinese Taipei. I lost 21-19,16-21,14-21.
This was a strange match for me because I was unable to jump sideways comfortably so I was constantly using makeshift movements. It was no surprise then that I lost to a lower ranked player.
So my first World Championships didn’t turn out to be as great as I hoped but I’m remaining positive and am currently getting treatment for my calf in Bangalore. I’m not sure yet what tournament I will play next as it depends on how soon I can get back to 100% fitness.
Starting off with the Korea Open: I played Li Yu from China in the first round. I won 22-20,18-21,21-19. I didn’t feel I played too well in this match, but the conditions were very tough -- with a lot of wind in the hall and difficult lighting to get used to.
I played Dicky Palyama of Holland in the second round and I felt pretty good about this match, considering I’d beaten him a few weeks ago in Singapore. But this time I lost 21-16,14-21,18-21. I was okay in the first game but it started to go wrong right from the start of the second. Dicky was better prepared to play me this time and he anticipated a lot of my smashes. I should still have won, but with the new scoring system sometimes the game gets over before you realise what happened.
At Hong Kong, I played Yogendran Krishnan of Malaysia in the first round. I lost 21-14,17-21,14-21. Again, I started off well, but I wasn’t able to keep it up. Yogendran also had a good match, and he was pulling off pretty much any stroke he played.
Injury strikes
The World Championships returned to Spain this year after a gap of five years. It was held in Seville in 2001.
The team had had a camp of about two weeks in Hyderabad before leaving for Seville. Unfortunately, a few days before we were to leave, I hurt my right calf muscle. Doctors in Hyderabad told me there was no muscle tear but that it was a case of acute strain of the muscle.
As a result I wasn’t really able to do any training for about a week before my match. I took a lot of physiotherapy treatment in Hyderabad and on reaching Madrid. This didn’t have the desired effect though, and I wasn’t 100% while playing my first round against Liao Sheng Shiun of Chinese Taipei. I lost 21-19,16-21,14-21.
This was a strange match for me because I was unable to jump sideways comfortably so I was constantly using makeshift movements. It was no surprise then that I lost to a lower ranked player.
So my first World Championships didn’t turn out to be as great as I hoped but I’m remaining positive and am currently getting treatment for my calf in Bangalore. I’m not sure yet what tournament I will play next as it depends on how soon I can get back to 100% fitness.
Saturday, September 23, 2006
New Post
Hello everyone,
Sorry about not updating the blog in the last couple of months. I've been travelling a lot lately and with the new airline regulations, ,I have not had my computer with me. I will shortly upload my reviews of 3 tournaments I played recently, Korea Open, Hong Kong Open and the World Championships in Madrid. I have had a few ordinary results but I figure its not fair to only update my good results. Expect these within a weeks time. I'm also trying to add a couple of features like online auctions of badminton memorabilia, forums for discussion of various topics relating to badminton etc. Let me know if you would like to see something like this on the blog.
Sorry about not updating the blog in the last couple of months. I've been travelling a lot lately and with the new airline regulations, ,I have not had my computer with me. I will shortly upload my reviews of 3 tournaments I played recently, Korea Open, Hong Kong Open and the World Championships in Madrid. I have had a few ordinary results but I figure its not fair to only update my good results. Expect these within a weeks time. I'm also trying to add a couple of features like online auctions of badminton memorabilia, forums for discussion of various topics relating to badminton etc. Let me know if you would like to see something like this on the blog.
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