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Thomas hungry for success again

Stan Rayan

— Photo: Vipin Chandran

Thomas Kurien.

KOCHI: Four cots lined up next to each other made movement difficult in the musty room. “Don’t be scared when you see my room,” Thomas Kurien had warned as he led this reporter along a dark corridor and to the tiny living space that he shared with three others on the third floor of the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium at Kadavanthra. Despite the warning, one was shocked.

Strangely, Thomas’s badminton career has walked through some similar dark alleys and gloomy settings and the hard-working young man, despite his abundant talent, was frequently forced to live in the shadows.

Three years ago, he won the men’s singles title at the Asian Satellite Championship — his first major trophy — in New Delhi. In 2006, Thomas played the Thomas Cup in Japan, the Asian championship in Malaysia and was a member of the Indian team which won the SAF Games gold in Sri Lanka.

Trouble started

But, a little after that, his woes began. A knee problem and the Badminton Association of India’s policy of ignoring seniors and promoting juniors by sending them for international tournaments with the 2010 Commonwealth Games in mind played havoc with Thomas’ sporting life.

“I lost six to eight months with that knee problem and then the seniors were virtually forgotten,” said the 29-year-old. “I’m not against the policy of promoting juniors but after I won the Asian Satellite, I felt I should have been given more exposure. The juniors are so lucky now. When I won the Junior National title in 1998, I was not given such privileges. We had to slog it out with the seniors.”

Forget the past

Thomas has now decided to bury the bitterness.

“I want to give the game one last shot, one more try,” said Thomas, an officer with the ONGC in Chennai, who trains in Kochi. A few days ago, he won the UAE Open in Dubai beating young Indian hopeful Sourabh Varma.

Thomas is hungry once again. Clearly, the fire is back.

“I know I can beat most of the current youngsters, provided I play at my best. I just have to work harder.” That doesn’t mean he is training harder. “I just train a little more smartly. I don’t go for exercises which are tough on my knee,” he said.

He is currently ranked No. 18 but that is because he played just three of the seven tournaments last season.

As he came out of his room and looked over the railing, one could see loud badminton action way below. Many of the national campers were busy at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.

Thomas is keen to be back, back where he belongs.

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