KOCHI:Playing ten matches of badminton in three days is no joke. That too in the humid atmosphere at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.
No wonder then that top seed Alluri Sri Sai Siril Varma ended up in a hospital on Saturday evening, requiring intravenous infusion to re-hydrate himself. Having stayed in the sick bed till midnight, the spirited shuttler was back on court on Sunday in search of yet another title in his fledgling career.
On the other side of the net in the U-17 boys singles final of the RSC national ranking tournament was Lakshya Sen - who was fortunate to have a cramping Siril concede their U-19 semifinal the other day.
It took him a bit of time to get going. But once he did, there was nothing that his opponent could do to escape the Telangana lad’s superb all-court game. Trailing 6-15 in the opening game, Siril stepped up gears to level the scores at 17 each before proceeding to pocket the game with a delightful cross-court drop shot. The second game turned out to be an exhibition of the variety in the repertoire of the Gopichand Academy trainee. The yell as he clinched the final point was about much more than just winning a junior tournament. He had proved a point, beyond any shadow of a doubt. “I wanted to do it for the academy,” a beaming Siril told Express.
Rated as the next big thing in Indian badminton, the 15-year-old is clear where he wants to be before he turns 20. “I want to be inside the top 15 in the world. From there, it’s about playing more tournaments and getting better,” said the confident youngster.
Quick-footed and stylish, his movements are laced with deception at every step. “I was a bit fat initially. The fitness came along slowly but deception was always there,” said Varma, who had started training at the famed academy in Hyderabad at the age of eight. And now he is working on his defence, especially. “It is important to have a good defence in the modern game. But I’m working to improve on all aspects,” he pointed out.
The chance to train under Gopichand and play with the likes of Saina Nehwal, P Kashyap, K Srikanth and P V Sindhu has been the biggest plus in his evolution. “That is a great advantage to have. You can learn a lot from their experiences,” he said. So what has been the most important lesson from the former All England champion? “Focus,” pat came the reply.
Having won the Asian U-15 title two years ago, his immediate target though is the Asian junior championships (U-19) to be held in Bangkok from June 28. The world junior championships in November is also high up his priority.
