Kashyap shows glimpses of Padukone, Gopi in victory

by TS Sudhir “Ranking is just a number,” is one of the things Indian national badminton coach Pullela Gopi Chand likes to remind you often. I suspect that was one of the guru mantras Gopi whispered into his ward Parupalli Kashyap’s ear before the world number 21 stepped on court. His rival Tien Minh Nguyen from Vietnam, is number 11 in the world and has got the better of Kashyap on previous occasions. Kashyap in London today was like a man possessed. His arms gleaming with sweat, he made Tien dance to his racquet play and dominated the match throughout, winning 21-9, 21-14. Kashyap clearly looked the better prepared player of the two and played clever and high-class badminton, his cross-court smashes, an absolute delight. In his aggression, he mirrored Gopi and turned into a carbon copy of Prakash Padukone when he chose to fox Tien with delicate net play. No wonder, the TV commentator noticing Gopi taking down notes wondered if he is just writing “Very good, very good, very good” ! Scoring the winning point with a delectable cross court shot, Kashyap sunk to the ground and hit the court hard with his left fist. He needed to let go of that energy, now that he had won one more important battle. Getting up, he flashed a smile at Gopi. Mission Accomplished, Sir ! [caption id=“attachment_398553” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kashyap in London today was like a man possessed.Manvender Vashist/PTI[/caption] Gopi and Kashyap go back a long way. Gopi and family used to stay as tenants in a house owned by Kashyap’s family in Hyderabad. And it was not surprising that young Kashyap was inspired by his tenant’s on-court exploits. Before leaving for London, discussing prospects of the Indian team over a cup of tea, Gopi said if Kashyap played consistent high quality badminton, he would go a long way. The London Olympics offers Kashyap a great opportunity to prove that he can be a dynamite on court. Everyday. Fortunately for Kashyap who is severely asthmatic, the London weather and the conditions at the Wembley Arena are just perfect. The 25-year-old has battled asthma for most part of his playing career, losing several matches that should have been in his kitty. Today, anyone who saw the match between Kashyap and Tien, would agree that it was the Vietnam player who was out of breath. Everytime he won a point, Kashyap let his clenched fist do the talking. It was obvious this extremely take-it-easy guy off the court had come all pumped-up to make the day count. Kashyap had made it to London by a whisker, bagging the ticket to London at the India Open in April, against tough competition for the same spot from fellow shuttler Ajay Jayaram. Like Gopi at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, Kashyap is now in the last 16. But he would hope the comparison ends there. Gopi lost in the pre-quarters Down Under but Kashyap has to make the shuttle do his bidding to make his London dreams count. TS Sudhir is the author of ‘Saina Nehwal : An Inspirational Biography’