BENGALURU: Dr Santosh HR lives by the philosophy that if life gives you a second chance, then grab it with both hands. That’s exactly what he did. Santosh, a doctor by profession, moonlights as a professional badminton player. His passion for the racquet was so intense that he won gold at the All India Civil Services badminton tournament that was held in Chandigarh recently. “In this tournament where I represented Karnataka, I won the gold medal in men’s doubles and silver in the mixed doubles category for those above 45,” says Santosh.
The 47-year-old orthopedic surgeon at Victoria Hospital has been playing badminton since he was 11-years-old. “I have been playing for around 35 years. My father was playing badminton and I got inspired by him to pick up the racquet.
I had represented the state around six times and I had won two all-India-level tournaments,” he says, adding that he got his medical seat in a sports quota.
Though he admits that it was not easy for him to balance sports and MBBS. “Once I got into medicine, I wasn’t able to continue my passion for sports. To focus on my studies, I left badminton for nearly 10 years. I don’t regret it though because academia was quite competitive and needed my full attention. I did continue playing at the college and university level,” says Santosh, who has been a student of badminton legend Prakash Padukone.
Maybe his studies were the first hurdle to, but it changed in different stages due to which he could not pursue badminton. “Then life got busy and I continued focusing on my profession. Then due to the age cut-off, I missed out on many tournaments. To my luck, different categories like above 35 and 40 years started which allowed me to get back to badminton; I resumed after 35,” he adds.
Having been in touch with sports on a personal level helped him get back to it full-time when he did. “I had already played for around 10 to 15 years continuously. I already was a professional badminton player so it was not very difficult to get back on track,” he says.
With a hectic professional life of being a doctor and saving lives, Santosh says badminton is what has helped him keep a mental and physical balance. “It is something that keeps me happy and is a huge stress-buster. I am at that age where I have to take care of my physical health too. It helps me stay fit,” says Santosh, further adding, “Of course, work is hectic but it’s just one hour in the morning I dedicate to badminton. So it’s well-balanced.”