GUWAHATI: Ivan Sozonov is a well-established name in the world of badminton. Alongside Vladimir Ivanov, his men's doubles partner, the former pro had notched up many highlight reel-worthy scalps during his playing career. Now, the former All England Open winner is one of the central figures who has been tasked with a role to lay the foundation of the doubles category in India.
On Tuesday, the Russian coach's eyes were fixed on two of the country's future potentials in the men's doubles category of the ongoing BWF World Junior Championships here. Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu, the players in question, came in and walked away as winners in no time. In the last week or so, Indian junior shuttlers have been taking steps in the right direction in terms of results and the three-time Olympian couldn't have been more pleased.
In a free-wheeling chat with The New Indian Express, Sozonov, who's India's foreign head coach at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, gave his two cents about the doubles category in the country, the current Junior Worlds squad, the NCE and more. Excerpts...
On things the current batch had focussed before the Jr Worlds...
We had focussed on a new scoring system. We were prepared for fast games. We wanted the shuttlers to be prepared for every point. Also, we played practice sessions with some teams with more intensity. Gradually, they improved their game style. A few had issues with their game discipline sometimes, meaning following the tactics throughout the match, not just two, three points. They improved and I'm proud of them. They worked hard and now they'll shift to seniors soon. We're still waiting for some good results at the senior level as well.
On doubles taking more time and belief...
In India, the attitude is a bit different in regards to how we see them (juniors) at this age (18). The Europeans, a lot of great players, became top level after the age of 25, 26. They have a lot of time. In India, there are plenty of players and you need results fast but in men's doubles, you don't know when the results will come. Mathias Boe, for example, became an elite operator after the 2008 Olympics, they became top-five players in the world. We are waiting, we have time to work now. We need to believe.
On the current Jr World squad...
All the players are good, especially the ones who were selected to be part of the national team. They work hard and they absolutely deserve it. For two years, they sacrificed a lot, spending almost the whole year in this academy. Now, we are waiting for rewards, individual medals. That is also important. After the mixed team result, everyone has had a confidence boost. Sometimes, all they need is a little more faith and belief.
On shift in mentality towards doubles in the country
The mentality of the people is gradually changing. Before, doubles was always a second option for everyone. Now, the attitude has changed slightly but we still face that issue because parents also force them (youngsters) to play singles. In singles, they don't have the results, they don't the vision and they don't have the potential but despite that, they spend extra three, four years to find themselves. Maybe the coaches also don't make those observations. When I go for junior competitions, a lot of players already have extraordinary doubles skills like the Malaysians and Indonesians. Someone needs to convince the parents, their kids have more potential in doubles as compared to singles.
On National Centre of Excellence, Guwahati..
It's the best. Of course, not the best venue for competition, but one of the best. But it is best when it comes to practice, that type of stadium. Yes, in China and Indonesia, there are a lot of courts, but this type of spectator-friendly space, a multiple venue arena. Now, it's dedicated 24/7 for badminton guys. Maybe, this generation has also come to this kind of facility. All the players who have come here have improved a great deal. When we were playing, we would dream of a place like this. Now they have everything, they must also prove themselves.
I started coaching immediately after my playing career. When I was in a professional career, I used to help junior shuttlers. I like the process. I work here, it's a blessing. In Russia, there are a lot of issues. They are out of badminton. Even then, I'm involved at a high level. I'm thankful to get this opportunity.
On professionalism and importance of discipline...
Players need some special attention. They are at a tricky age, they can be spoiled too. We don't need to give them too much freedom. If they deserve, they can go of course. In countries like Malaysia, Indonesia...especially in Indonesia, the players spend the whole year in the camp. They can't go out, they can't meet their parents. It's because this (camp) is for professionals. When you come here, you must understand, you have to make plenty of sacrifices. Of course, you do need to relax sometimes but not much. If they complain, they must figure things out. We don't select anyone random here. Only players who have potential, only who want to work, deserve to practice here.
On Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty...
They came one time for the Thomas Cup. They freely interacted with the players and gave them (trainees) ideas. They are always open...they are not selfish, just good relationships. Yes, you can be a great player but you must be a great person. They have that kind of attitude. They are polite guys. They came for 10 days and they (youngsters) learned more than one year's worth of work (grins). On the playing front, they also put in plenty of hard work. Yes, they are talented, Satwik has a great smash and Chirag is also extraordinary. But they continue to learn and keep developing. They also have good trust for coaches. I saw how they appreciate them. They also have extraordinary body condition, both of them are quite tall and tough to play against. And they have also improved on many other aspects - drive game, service receiving etc.
On memorable matches during his playing career...
There are a lot of matches that I look fondly at. Yes, my friends send me some our highlights. Now, I check some young players, and try to figure out how badminton has changed at the top level. Sometimes I watch our matches and compare how we would have fared. In regards to memorable matches, all our Major finals (smiles), each one of them...All England and European Championships. The Indonesia Open final in 2013 was also quite special. In fact, 2013 was the most memorable year for us when we grew a lot, when we beat our idol Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong (ex-World No 1), players from whom we had learnt a lot. To get a chance to not just play against them but to beat them then was huge.
We reached the next level that year, we had some great matches. It was not like we had one good match and the other matches were average. The whole year we had six, seven matches against top-five (ranking) opponents in the world and we had good results against them. We didn't get a medal (against top guns), but we had three, four quarterfinals and a semifinal in Indonesia. That year was a big boost in our career and we went on to jump to top-12, top-8 and we spent around five years in that position.
