Kashyap keen to play lead role

As things stand today,Parupalli Kashyap can only hope to fill in the opening band or the filler gig slot for the main act of badmintons rock show that is Saina Nehwal.

As things stand today,Parupalli Kashyap can only hope to fill in the opening band or the filler gig slot for the main act of badmintons rock show that is Saina Nehwal. However,at the Badminton Asia Championships (ABC),the 23-year-old finds himself shouldering the reputation of Indias leading mens challenger after Chetan Anand’s withdrawal from the draw. Seeded 13,Kashyap is currently enjoying his career-high ranking of 30. And playing at a tournament where he has exceeded expectations in previous editions,the Hyderabad player will be keen to go beyond being the sideshow to Nehwals much-followed progress in the Capital this summer.

The talented shuttler combines silken finesse with determination acquired over the past few years,when he bundled up his happy-go-lucky and at times stubborn temperament and traded it for the dogged approach. He put his head down to the task at hand and knew that the job entailed fewer frills and more pure hard work.

In Delhi,Kashyap will be in familiar territory with the ABC having yielded some fine results for the youngster over the years. In 2008 in Malaysia,he was the last Indian standing after Day 1,when he had shocked Chinese Yi Lu after rallying from a game down to score the rare win for his nation. A year later,he had scalped seeded players like Korean Hoon Ji Hoon and Vietnamese Nguyen Tien Minh at the Malaysian ABC,and was up 10-4 against Bao Chunlai,former Chinese No 1,before going down in the decider of the quarter-finals.

Happy memories

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I have many happy memories from the ABC. And I see this as a tournament that will finally help me step out of the shadows of Indias established seniors. Ive been ranked above some of them this last entire year,but I need to continue doing well and get that one big win against a marquee player, says the shuttler who looks the best bet from the Gen-Next,beyond Indias seasoned trio of Anand,Aravind Bhat and Anup Sridhar. Earlier this year,Kashyap stepped in for Anand in a crucial Thomas Cup qualifier tie against Vietnam and helped India make it to the May finals,but he believes hell need to grab the national crown to assert his eminence. Id want to win the national championships and thats as important a goal as making the Top 20 by this year-end, adds the 2009 finalist.

This week,he runs into Hong Kongs Wing Ki Wong,a strong tireless shuttler. Hes a retriever and his strength is he can last long. Im not really worried about his strokes, Kashyap says,after being given handy tips by training buddy RMV Gurusaidutt,who has played the Hong Kong player before. Still,hes beatable,and the possible next opponent,Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto,is someone Ive twice lost closely to, he adds.

The months ahead till September are challenging as Kashyap defends a bulk of his points that propelled him into the Top-30 over the last year. But he has overcome a sterner test after he finally found the best-suited medication for his asthma condition. Ive changed my medication after I realised that as a sportsman I needed something different from normal asthma patients,because my lung capacity was only at 60 per cent with the old oral dosage. Now I have an inhaler which can be used during the match,and I have the relevant WADA certificate for it, he adds.

Breathless he might still get,but what Kashyap would want very much is a chance to belt out that one hit,and then many more,as he moves from the side gigs to the centre of the show.