The intersection of memories… and a stolen bag

Copenhagen Airport evokes powerful memories. It’s an intersection, as all airports are, an intersection of incoming and outgoing flights and memories. Just last year, same time, I was at the Starbucks cafe, chatting with Jens, with the Indonesian team (several Olympic and world champions: Taufik, Kido, Setiawan, etc) sitting around playing cards, when someone stole my bag. All my clothes and all the gifts I’d received. The Indonesians were startled, and even Taufik, usually sage-like in his indifference, looked troubled.

It’s a year now. It feels like yesterday. I’m at the airport, headed again for Dubai, from where I’ll catch a flight to Bangalore. I look around… it feels the same. Hendra Setiawan, the Olympic champion, is alongside — he was on the same bus from Odense to the airport. ‘Remember me?’ I ask, and he smiles. He remembers. I recall that long chat with Markis Kido, his partner, who told me he loved Bollywood films and Shah Rukh Khan. “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,” Kido told me, unsure what any of those words meant.
October 2010 morphs into the October of 2011. Jens is here again. He’s a sweet old man, but not as old as you might think, for he still bikes in the mountains. The last time, when I lost my luggage, he drove me into Copenhagen and checked me into a hotel. The next morning, Lars, our media guide at the tournament, came to visit me and secretly paid the hotel bill. I offered to repay him this time but he wouldn’t hear of it.
Taufik is the same off-court as he is on court. He reacts to everything with slightly raised eyebrows, as if he is mildly surprised but doesn’t care. He doesn’t speak much, even to teammates, but that day he was playing cards with the rest of them. Copenhagen airport was packed. Barcelona were flying in to play FC Copenhagen, and there were hundreds of fans sporting Barca attire. They were all dying to catch a glimpse of Messi.
I wondered at the difference then between badminton and football. Here was a living legend, Taufik Hidayat, sublime in his skills, an Olympic, world and Asian Games champion, sitting in plain sight, in Denmark, and yet nobody recognised him. Messi, in any case, escaped with the rest of the team without coming out of the departure gates. I think a bus picked them up directly from the flight.
That was October 2010. I remember the hotel, the seedy streets around it, the cold, the blanketed strangers shuffling in the shadows, and some peep shows around. It was a scene straight out of a dark graphic novel, no humour at all.

Jr ABC: Zulkiffli outclasses Sameer

Lucknow (The Hindu): Sameer Verma had to settle for the silver medal as he lost to the superior second-seeded Malaysian Zulkiffli Zulfadli in the boys’ singles final of the Badminton Asia youth under-19 championships at the U.P. Badminton Academy courts, Gomti Nagar, here on Saturday.

Verma, who had won loads of appreciation for his excellent performance in the semifinals, could not handle the pressure of playing in a big final in front of the loudly cheering home crowd.

Besides, Zulkiffli’s attacking intent took the top-ranked Indian junior by surprise. The Malaysian used his smashes and placement with utmost effectiveness to outshine Verma, who made the matter worse with some silly mistakes at the net.

Close affair

Still, major part of the first game was a neck-and-neck affair and was nicely poised at 14-15 at one stage.

Verma could not hold his nerve and made several unforced errors, five to be precise, to help the Malaysian take one game lead.

Zulkiffli was successful in carrying forward the momentum in his favour and maintained his accuracy — be it a shot loaded with power or a delicate touch closer to the net.

In the second game, Verma tried to stage a comeback by engaging Zulkiffli in some impressive rallies.

However, the Indian did not succeed as his rival moved ahead with a six-point lead.

Since Verma had conceded so much ground to his opponent, he could not make up the gap even though he saw the Malaysian tiring fast.

Zulkiffli fell down on the court and was in tears after scoring the match point.

Verma aptly analysed his performance.

“He (Zulkiffli) was very attacking from the beginning. So, I became defensive and paid the price,” said Verma.

Brighter side

However, the 17-year-old Indian looked at the brighter side of the championship. “I reached the final and it is big thing for me,” he said.

P. Gopi Chand, the mentor and coach of Verma, was disheartened that his ward could not play his natural game. “He made a lot of mistakes at the net,” said Gopi Chand.

At the same time, the coach counted on the positives and said it was a good sign that the Indian players had done well in a championship of this level.

Indonesia’s glory

In the individual events, Indonesian players cornered glory for their country by claiming two gold medals (in mixed doubles and girls’ doubles).

China, Malaysia and Chinese Taipei bagged one gold each.

Talented home shuttler P.V. Sindhu was eligible for a bronze medal for making the girls’ singles semifinals.

The results (Finals, Indians unless specified):

Boys’ singles:(2) Zulfadli Zulkiffli (Mas) bt Sameer Verma 21-15, 21-17.

Boys’s doubles:(4) Yu Lin Chia-Jui Huang Po (Tpe) bt Yao Lu Ching-En Huang Chu (Tpe) 21-14, 21-13.

Girls’ singles:Yu Sun (Chn) bt Yaying Shen (Chn) 21-8, 21-13.

Girls’ doubles:Rizki Andini Suci-Rosalia N. Tiara (INA) bt (4) Kuan Mei Chow-Yean Lee Meng (Mas) 21-18, 16-21, 21-12.

Mixed doubles:Apri N. Lukhi-Ririn Amelia (INA) bt Tiyani Pei-Dongni Ou (Chn) 15-21, 21-16, 25-23.

THE HINDU

Sameer powers into Asian Jr final

Dev S Sukumar. Bangalore

Sameer Verma became only the second Indian ever in the final of the Badminton Asia Youth Under-19 Championships, defeating Liu Kai of China at the UP Badminton Academy hall at Lucknow on Friday. However, compatriot PV Sindhu fell in the semis, to Sun Yu, also of China.
Sameer’s entry into the final gives him the opportunity to become only the second Indian to win the title – earlier known as the Junior ABC (Asian Badminton Confederation) after Gautam Thakkar in 1976. Sameer will take on Malaysian second seed Zulfikli Zulfadli in the title round.
Sameer’s run was astounding, as he beat an Indonesian and two Chinese on his way to the final. Even coach Gopichand was impressed. “Before the tournament started, I thought he could reach the quarterfinals,” he told DNA. “But the way he has been playing, I believed he had a chance today. He’s been beating some good players, not just Chinese, but also Indonesians and Malaysians.”
The first game was a close affair, and both players remained apace until Sameer annexed the last two points. The second too was close, but after 13-all, Liu Kai suddenly ran away with five straight points.
The loss of the second game made absolutely no impression on Verma, for he shot off to a 13-2 and 15-9 lead before wrapping up the match.
“He’s able to keep the shuttle low, and he’s got a lot of variations on his grip,” said Gopi. “He’s a little similar to his brother (Sourabh); both of them have great self-belief. I’m happy with the performance of the whole team. Even K Srikanth has been very good, and I’m very happy with the doubles too. Earlier, we weren’t so good in all the disciplines, but now we have around eight players who are a good bet for the future.”
Earlier, PV Sindhu, also Gopi’s trainee like Sameer, started off well against Sun Yu. She took the first game at 21-13, but her challenge fell away after the early stages of the second game.
Results (Semifinals): MS: Sameer Verma bt Liu Kai (Chn) 21-19 15-21 21-9; 2-Zulkiffli Zulfadli (Mas) bt Momota Kento (Jpn) 21-18 21-19

WS: Sun Yu (Chn) bt 4-PV Sindhu 13-21 21-12 21-10; Shen Yaying (Chn) bt Hui Xirui (Chn) 23-21 21-17

Sindhu, Sameer crash Chinese party

Lucknow: PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma did India proud by entering the semifinals of Badminton Asia Youth Under-19 Championships. Remarkably, both beat Chinese opponents to make the last four.
While Sameer Verma beat Guo Kai 21-19 12-21 21-15, fourth seeded Sindhu got past Zheng Yu 22-20 11-21 21-12. Sameer’s win was particularly significant because Guo Kai had beaten India’s Pratul Joshi in the team championship semifinals. Incidentally, Pratul was among the casualties on Wednesday, falling in the quarterfinals to second seeded Malaysian Zulfaidi Zulfikli in straight games.
Sameer led all through in the first game, and although Guo Kai caught up at 19-all, the Indian held his nerve to take the game. In the second, it was Guo all the way, leading from start to finish. Fortunes fluctuated in the decider, but from 14-all, the Indian took five points in a row to swing the contest decisively.
PV Sindhu had to weather a tense first game against Zheng Yu, which she won 22-20. Although Zheng took the second rather easily, Sindhu sensationally grabbed the decider by shooting to a 8-1 and 17-6 lead.
PV Sindhu however crashed in the women’s doubles, as she and K Maneesha fell in the quarters to a Chinese pair.
Indian Results (Quarterfinals):
MS: Liu Kai (Chn) bt K Srikanth 26-24 21-17; Sameer Verma bt Guo Kai 21-19 12-21 21-15; 2-Zulfaidi Zulfikli (Mas) bt Pratul Joshi 21-15 21-9

WS: PV Sindhu bt Zheng Yu 22-20 11-21 21-12

WD: 2-Ou Dongni/ Rui Xiong (Chn) bt 8-K Maneesha/ PV Sindhu 21-8 21-9
XD: Pei Tianyi/ Ou Dongyi (Chn) bt B Venkatesh/ Ruthvika Shivani 21-11 21-7

Athletes knowingly take dope: Saina

Mumbai: Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on Wednesday gave a stunning twist to the raging dope scandal by saying that many athletes and weightlifters had told her in the past that they knowingly consume banned drugs.

“I also know many athletes and weightlifters who themselves tell me that “we take it”,” Saina said.

India was rocked by doping scandal recently with eight top national athletes who got training in NIS failing dope tests.

There were also reports that banned drugs were widely available in chemist shops near the national institute of Sport in Patiala.

Asked if she was aware about the availability of banned drugs at medical stores, the world number six said, “I don’t know whether it is available or not. I don’t take it.”

Saina, however, felt that lack of awareness about medicines was the major reason behind athletes testing positive for banned drugs in the country.

“It’s really sad they don’t know what they are taking. I’m sure everyone knows WADA rules, its very common. They have a website which mentions which medicines are banned and which are not. I think its just that they don’t know. Many athletes and weightlifters are not very educated so whatever their coaches give they take that,” she said.

The 21-year-old Hyderabadi said she consults her physiotherapist and doctors before taking any medicine and others too should do the same.

“If I have fever I ask my physio and doctor which medicines can be taken and which are banned. They should be very careful regarding everything,” she said.

Indian athletics had been rocked by a doping scandal in the last few days when CWG and Asian Games gold-winning relay quartet members Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose as well another quartermiler Jauna Murmu tested positive for a banned substance – methandienone – in out-of-competition tests.

Apart from the trio, another quartermiler Tiana Mary Thomas tested positive for anabolic steroid epimethandiol, while long jumper Hari Krishnan Muralidharan and shot putter Sonia were the other two athletes who have tested positive in the last few days.

The scandal grew in proportion with two more athletes, the country’s new golden girl Ashwini Akkunji and another quartermiler Priyanka Panwar, testing positive for the same anabolic steroid – methandienone, hours before their departure for Japan for the Asian Championships.

Meanwhile, to a query on Titan brand ambassador Aamir Khan, Saina said, “I interact with him a lot. He sends me messages, congratulates me whenever I win any tournament. Its very kind of him.”

“I don’t see him endorsing too many brands but whatever he does, he does it perfectly. I really wish he was here (for the event).”

The former world number two also wished Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on his 30th birthday on Thursday.

“He’s achieved everything. He is a world champion. So what else…I wish him many more successes ahead,” the ace shuttler said.

Bonanza for Malaysian badminton

Kuala Lumpur: Sponsors have given Malaysian badminton a $13.6 million cash injection in a bid to win a first Olympic gold medal in London next year and build for the future, local media reported on Wednesday.
The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) will be sponsored by Maybank for the next six years in the biggest such tie-up in Malaysian badminton. Maybank replaces carmaker Proton as BAM’s new title sponsors, although Proton will continue their sponsorship deal for the next five years.
“It is an indication that badmintons status has reached a lofty height,” BAM President Seri Nadzmi told the Bernama news agency, after signing off on the deal. “It will certainly elevate the game to a higher ground. More importantly, we will be able to mobilise our development efforts in states. However, it is not enough just to have a sound financial backing but the states also need to play their parts by managing the fund and programme well.”
Badminton has a huge following in Malaysia, although they have long been forced to play second or third fiddle behind the mighty Chinese and Indonesia. Their top player, world number one Lee Chong Wei, plans to quit after the 2012 London Olympics and the BAM are looking to groom a new crop of players for the national side. Reuters