It’s been a week to remember for budding shuttler Sankar Muthusamy. Up against some of the finest talents around the world, the 18-year-old showed his prowess with the racquet to stand apart. Entering the court for his final match in the BWF World Junior Championship in Santander, Spain on Sunday, Sankar had a chance to claim the top prize and enter the history books. However, things didn’t go according to Sankar’s script as his opponent, clearly superior on the day, outwitted him to take the gold instead.

Facing Kuo Kuan Lin of Chinese Taipei, Sankar was always playing the chasing game with his much taller and stronger opponent unleashing some big cross-court smashes in the opening game. Kuo was attacking Sankar’s, who’s left-handed, backhand. Sankar also showed grit, especially in the second game but that was too little, too late. Towards the end, he saved six game points to bring the contest to life. However, Kuo maintained his composure to win 21-14, 22-20.

Despite the loss, it goes without saying the silver medal effort is a massive boost for Sankar, who had won five matches to reach final.

Unlike some big performers in the country, the youngster is not from the well-known Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad or the Prakash Padukune Badminton Academy, institutes who have a reputation of  producing champions at will. Coming from Fireball Academy in Chennai, Sankar had been ticking the right boxes in recent years to help him come so far.

He is also repaying the faith put on him by his parents. His father had taken voluntary retirement to give more attention to him. And it goes without saying, they have spent a lot on his travels, something that has helped him attain match practice and learn about the sport. That had also helped him No 1 status (August 2022) in BWF junior rankings, an important stat that showed that he’s someone to be watched closely.  His coach Aravind Swamiappan has been with him for over a decade, helping him learn the nuances of the game.

Just a week or so back, Sankar and his coach had encountered off-the-field issues, something that forced him to sit out of the mixed team event of the championship at the eleventh hour. That had also meant that his participation for the individual event was in doubt. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)