One of India’s finest badminton players & Arjuna awardee, Chirag Shetty (World Ranking No. 8) added a feather to his jeweled cap after team India’s glorious win at the Thomas Cup 2022 badminton championship.

 

To celebrate our completion of 12 years as a badminton academy, we had the pleasure of having Chirag in our excellence center, Golden Shuttle situated at Kottara Chowki, Mangalore. An elaborate ‘Meet & Greet’ program was organised by Golden Shuttle on 12^th February 2022 for all badminton enthusiasts in the city; followed by an exclusive dinner with the champ himself! The main motive for organising the ‘Meet & Greet’ program was to provide our kids & members with exposure to badminton at an international level; to learn and understand aspects that influenced Chirag’s career in badminton.

 

Along with Chirag Shetty, the ‘Meet & Greet’ program at Golden Shuttle, Mangalore was graced by his parents, Mr. Chandrashekar Shetty & Mrs. Sujata Shetty. One of the program’s highlights was the Q&A session; some key aspects from the session are mentioned further below. After an engrossing interactive session, our kids at Golden Shuttle had an opportunity to exchange a few shots with the ace shuttler. After addressing the press persons, autographed picture cards were given away to all the participants followed by a photography session with Chirag.

The event concluded with an exclusive dinner with Chirag and his family during which our logo for the Sudhir Ghate memorial Golden Shuttle Cup 2022 was unveiled by Mr. Chirag. The invitees had the opportunity to connect with Chirag at a personal level and gain further insights into the champion’s badminton career.

Excerpts from the Q&A session with Chirag Shetty & his parents

Q: At what age did you start playing badminton? How did you (Chirag) decide to choose a career in badminton?

Ans: I started playing badminton at the age of 7 years. Initially, I was very fond of cricket. Over time, I realized that I wanted to play an individual sport and hence I started badminton and gradually was more inclined towards it.

Q: What do you think about the importance of fitness for kids pursuing badminton?

Ans: Till the age of 18 years, we did not emphasise fitness a lot; the focus was on spending more time on the court and honing stroke skills. As a kid, I wanted to just play for however long I was allowed. An extreme level of fitness was not the need of the hour; however, I was fit enough to be able to win tournaments and continue working on my strokes. On entering the seniors’ team (after 18 years of age) fitness became extremely important. Our bodies almost develop completely by 18 years of age and the right fitness regimen can immensely help boost performances. Also, the sport demands an extreme level of fitness at the international level.

Q: How do you manage your strict fitness regimen, diet, and most importantly rest?

Ans: During our on-season, I have a very strict routine and we players spend most of our day in the Academy. We have a full-day regimen which is made considering our diet, rest required, and our upcoming tournament schedule. During our off-season, I tend to keep myself as disciplined as possible; I do indulge and enjoy the occasional outing with my friends & family. I make the most of my time at home by getting all the rest I can.

Q: What do you think about badminton in India?

Ans: I believe badminton has grown exponentially in India. As a kid, when I started playing access to good infrastructure was quite difficult and India had not achieved much in badminton, as compared to cricket. However, in the last 15 years, I have observed that badminton is booming – there are great courts in so many cities making quality badminton easily accessible. Additionally, the number of players pursuing the sport and planning a career in it is rising rapidly and steadily. At the current rate, badminton will definitely be one of the top sports in the country.

Q: As parents, what was your response to Chirag’s decision of pursuing badminton as a career?

Ans: Chirag did well in school and attended school regularly. As he developed an interest in badminton, he juggled his focus on both school & the sport equally. My wife and I have always supported Chirag in his pursuit and have supported him to make his mark in badminton. Parents today need to realise that their kids are children and not machines who can achieve glory in everything. Children are burdened with so many classes and are expected to outperform in all areas. Parents must realise the potential of their child and help achieve wonders in the field of their interest.

Q: What do you enjoy about Mangalore?

Ans: Mangalore is my hometown, I am from Yermal (near Padubidri). This is my first visit to Mangalore after having made it into the international circuit; I am visiting the city after 7 or 8 years. I enjoy the food here, Gadbad from Pabbas is one of my favourites. I will definitely try and visit Mangalore more often.

Recently, I visited Indonesia as part of the BWF panel in my capacity as an official badminton photographer for the BWF – I covered the DAIHATSU Indonesia Masters 2020, held from 14th – 19th January 2020 at Istora Senayan, Jakarta.

The thrill and sheer joy of watching and learning from live matches is just amazing. The Indonesians, Greysia Polli and Apriyani Rahayu played amazingly well to defeat the Danish team and win their biggest title (Women’s Doubles) in Indonesia. The Minions (Kevin Sanjaya Sukamolyo & Marcus Fernaldi Gideon) too had their way in the Mens Doubles finals defeating The Daddies (Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan) for the 10th time in a row. After recovering through a painful injury (that occurred on the same court at the same venue in the past year) Carolin Marin played an excellent final against Ratchanok Intanon. It was mesmerizing to watch Intanon play some fine strokes at the net eventually leading to her first title in nine months. Anthony Sinisuka Ginting made the day for Indonesian fans after winning the Mens Singles title. And yes, though I wished to watch him play a few years ago, it was equally exciting to watch even now – the favourite Lin Dan.

Indonesia has an immense fan following for the sport of badminton. Well, one can say, what Cricket is to India, Badminton is to Indonesia. Indonesia dominated the world of badminton back in the 90s and early 2000s and even to this day produces some of the best badminton players in the world. Badminton being the highest played sport in Indonesia and with its history of champions over the years such as Taufik Hidayat, Liliyana Natsir, Susi Susanti, Mohammad Ahsan, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Kevin Sanjaya Sukamolyo, Marcus Fernaldi Gideon, Markis Kido etc. and some of the best academies like Djarum academy and Jaya Raya academy, is a haven for badminton lovers. Hence I spent the following week at these academies to learn more about the vast badminton culture in Indonesia and how Indonesia managed to create spectacular players.

At Djarum Academy, I had the opportunity to meet the former champion, Mr. Christian Hadinata. As a player, Christian Hadinata reached the final of the prestigious All England singles in 1973. After he stepped off the court, Christian Hadinata went ahead to coach some of the best teams of Indonesia. I was also able to spend time & interact with the players at the Djarum badminton academy; participate with the them during their training sessions and understand their routines better.

Followed by this, I was able to practice and witness the training sessions at P B Jaya Raya Academy and have the amazing chance to spar with Mr Bambang Suprianto, another great name in the history of badminton – winner of the 1994 All England Mens Doubles Championship. In fact, Indonesian practice sessions are a theatre of ridiculous talent. Their doubles players seem to believe that tournaments are won not by screwed-eyes concentration and tyranny of geometry, but by gentle inflections in the wrists and elbows and shoulders while playing the fool all the time. Overall it was an excellent experience spending my time amongst one of the finest academies & players and learning all that revolves around the badminton culture in Indonesia.

 

Jnanesh Salian

Head Coach (Golden Shuttle Academy)

Golden Shuttle Academy organised the Golden Shuttle Cup on 05 January 2020 – an intra-academy tournament aimed at celebrating badminton and exposing our students to a competitive environment at an early stage in their sporting life – from playing in new venues against unknown faces, being decisive and independent when faced with pressure of performing, the joys of winning and the attitude to never give up when faced with defeat. The event was inaugurated by Rev. Fr. Richard Aloysius Coelho (Director, Father Muller Medical College), Fr. Ajith Menezes (Administrator, Father Muller Medical College), Mr Felix Albuquerque (Albuquerque Enterprises, Mangalore), Mr Gaurav Hegde (Trustee, Golden Sports Foundation) & Mr Jnanesh Salian (Golden Shuttle Academy, Mangalore). The event was inaugurated with our guests exhibiting a couple of fine rallies followed by Fr. Ajith Menezes providing the students with motivation and key insights into the infrastructure.

The tournament commenced with the students participating in the badminton events; students were grouped into relevant age categories (Under 9, Under 11, Under 13, Under 15 & Under 17) and fixtures were drawn for each category. Majority of the participants experienced a tournament for the first time; a mixture of expressions varying from a tad bit nervousness to super excitement was observable on each one of them. Alongside badminton, students were engaged in fitness games to achieve the title of ‘The Fastest Kid’ – an event wherein students competed to cover a fixed distance in the fastest possible duration by them. Even though our primary intention of the tournament was for the students to experience a tournament-like environment, we also believe our students must love the sport and enjoy playing it. Hence, the participants were encouraged to take part in badminton based fun games which also helps in improving certain vital parameters such as response time & reflexes. Along with providing a competitive platform for our students, the event also aimed at improving social interactions among the students. To keep them going, a round of fresh & healthy refreshments consisting of a corn & cheese sandwich, a green smoothie and brownies were provided to all the participants. The tournament witnessed some surprising and good performances leading to the final winners and runners up in each of the age categories.

Every participant’s effort was recognised and they were provided with participation certificates. The runners up and winners were awarded medals and certificates during a final valedictory ceremony. The ceremony witnessed the presence of Mr. Ajith Kamath (President, Kanara Small Scale Industries Association), Mr. C.S Bhandary (President, Mangala Badminton Association, Mangalore), Mr. Santhosh Shetty(Ex-President, Mangala Badminton Association, Mangalore) and Mr. Shiv Prasad (Surabhi Associates, Mangalore). The event concluded with a photo session of all the participants along with our guests and the organising team.

Father Muller provided us with a platform to make this event a success and their infrastructure has allowed us to reach out to more students and provide them with badminton training. We are grateful to Rev. Father Richard Coelho and Fr. Ajith Menezes for their constant support and motivation to Golden Shuttle Academy.

Details of the achievers in the Golden Shuttle Juniors 2020 is given.

Winners of Badminton
U11 Boys
Winner: Maanush
Runner Up: Vihaan V Shetty
U11 Girls
Winner: Twisha
Runner Up: Sunidhi

U13 Boys
Winner: Gagandeep
Runner Up: Samprith
U13 Girls
Winner: Sakshi Purushottam
Runner Up: Sanvi Kotian

U15 Boys
Winner: Ajay D Kamath
Runner Up: Vedh Prakash
U15 Girls
Winner: Apeksha
Runner Up: Diya

U17 Boys
Winner: Chirag Shriyan
Runner Up: Chirag Rai
U17 Girls
Winner: Parvathi
Runner Up: Rishika

Winners of ‘The Fastest Kid’ title

U11 Boys

Winner: Tarun

Runner Up: Manjesh Suvarna

U11 Girls

Winner: Twisha

Runner Up: Sanvi N

U13 Boys

Winner: Immanuel

Runner Up: Thanav S Gowda

U13 Girls

Winner: Fathima Zarah

Runner Up: Sakshi Purushottam

U15 Boys

Winner: Naman P

Runner Up: Ajay D Kamath

U15 Girls

Winner: Saanika

Runner Up: Shristi Rai

U17 Girls:

Winner: Kshama

Runner Up: Shivani Bhat