The Hindu : Sport : Unique tournament, incredible response

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

Unique tournament, incredible response

By V. V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD, JUNE 9. It was a tournament with a difference. The beaming face of 2001 All England champion P. Gopi Chand, the portrait of Dronacharya Awardee, S. M. Arif, hanging on the walls of the Fateh Maidan indoor stadium and the budding players in the age group of 10 to 16 displaying their skills on the four courts, reflected the success of the second edition of the unique SAAP-Yonex badminton tournament, organised by the Andhra Pradesh Badminton Players Welfare Association.

The concept, picked up from the European countries by Gopi Chand, attracted a record number of 136 entries in the under-10 category alone. "It is something incredible. We never anticipated such a huge response. We are definitely delighted at this, for this is exactly what our sole objective was when we conceptualised the idea," said a proud Gopi Chand.

Moving away from established norms, there was no formal inauguration and the current as well as former State and National players lined up voluntarily for any `duty'. Navya, for instance, enjoyed the role of an umpire. Another player, Siyadutt, got the xerox copies of the scoresheets for the meet. Not to be left behind, Nani Prasad, a seasoned umpire, typed the results for the benefit of the media.

Manoj Kumar, APBPWA president, and Vijayraghavan, organising secretary, were always present to take care of the players. That Gopi Chand, soon after flying down to the city after taking part in the Canadian invitation tournament, drove straight down to the venue and spent the whole day showed his commitment to the event.

Unlike the first edition, there were quite a few entries from districts like Tirupati, Vizag, Nellore and Khammam. Performance-wise, the chief coach of Nandi Pipes Badminton Academy (Nandyal), K. Venkat, was delighted as all his seven boys entered the quarterfinals. "These are the tournaments which are badly needed to judge the real talent of the youngsters, for they give us the scope to focus on areas of improvement," he said.

Kids like Sai Ajith Reddy, Upendra, Jamaluddin Ahmed and Pavan Kumar belonging to the Academy cherished the experience. So did Bhavan's Public School student, Rajeev, and Tirupati's Jamuna Rani.

Most importantly, winning was not the only thing for them. "What really impressed me was their interest to play on and on without taking a break. Honestly, as kids we did crave for some break but it is not the case now," said Gopi Chand.

The sight of Arjuna Awardee, P. V. Ramana, former international volleyballer, watching his daughter Sindhu win the last two points to clinch her quarterfinal (under-10), and that too from a distance to avoid putting pressure on the player, was just one instance of a parent trying his best to be away from the scene of action.

"This is a wonderful concept. We wish these type of events are held in other disciplines too," said Ramana.

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