Kerala & Badminton.

[Mathews J. Thundyil]

THE HINDU
Saturday, July 25, 1998
SECTION: Sport

Date: 25-07-1998 :: Pg: 28 :: Col: a

JUST a couple of years ago, doomsayers dotted the Kerala badminton
circuit. The soaring cost of shuttles, the professional courses were
killing the game, they wailed. But now, the zip is back and the
pleasant turnaround is because of the humble doubles.

A peculiar pattern marks the current National doubles rankings. A
Keralite figures in each of the top four men's pairs. The State's fine
dance with doubles is felt in the Senior National Championships too. A
Malayali is among the victors for the last eight years.

The doubles has often been an ignored event, unfairly sidelined by the
media. Its champions lived a quiet existence and got only peanuts for
prize money.``The doubles champions are a forgotten lot,'' opined
George Thomas, former National singles champion, who is now second in
the National doubles rankings. ``Ask anybody who the National singles
champion is and the name comes in a jiffy. But the case is not the
same with doubles. The scene is the same even when it comes to
Wimbledon tennis champions,'' he said.

But an impressive hike in pairs prize-money at all levels and an
easier route into the Indian team have forced players to hunt for a
good partner. And what started as a safe haven for the seniors is now
drawing juniors by the dozen.

``A good combo can now earn nearly Rs. 2 (two) lakhs on the national
circuit every season. Earlier, the doubles winners were given only
one-fifth of what the singles winners got. But now, the prize-money is
almost the same and in some cases even more than singles,'' revealed
George.

``Also, doubles players did not get their due in team selections
earlier. Only one specialist doubles team was picked for major
championships and the other pair used to be formed from the selected
singles players. Now, they go for two specialist pairs, because
doubles is more competitive,'' added George.

George took up doubles seriouly in 1995 following a knee injury. ``I
had played enough singles when I took up full-time doubles at 27.
Also, my knee couldn't take the strain of singles,'' said George.

George has had four partners over the last few years, but his biggest
success has come with Markose Bristow, the current Kerala singles
champion. The two finished a commendable second in the Colombo leg of
the Asian Satellite event in January, losing to a Korean pair in the
final. George, the National doubles champion with Jaseel P. Ismail in
1992, also bagged the French International singles and doubles titles
at Toulose in 1991.

George Thomas and Markose Bristow make an interesting pair. George is
short but a wily fox at the net. He almost mesmerises the opponent
with low serves and soft angled drops, caressing the `bird' while
outwitting the opponent.

He is basically a fighter and motivates Markose by creating openings
for him. Markose, on the other hand, thrives from the baseline,
relying on smashes to score. There's more variety in Markose's serves
now which makes the duo all the more deadlier.

In a way, Markose sacrificed his singles career to concentrate on
doubles. But the move has been well rewarded for Markose and George,
along with Jaseel P. Ismail, have been picked in the seven-member
Indian team for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games. And State-wise,
Kerala has the biggest representation in the Indian team.

International Vimal Kumar's younger brother, Vinod Kumar started the
exodus of singles players to doubles when he was just 20. The current
National doubles winner with Rajeev Bagga, Vinod has won the honour
six times over the last ten years.

Jaseel, the 1991 junior National singles winner, also made the switch
when he was 20, surprising many. He went on to pick three National
doubles titles, two with Vijaydeep Singh and one with George Thomas.

Which is more fun, winning the singles or doubles?

The `solo', says George who has tasted success in both singles and
doubles at the National level. ``In singles, the glory is all yours,''
he explained.

But with the singles circuit getting tougher every year, Kerala's
seniors are forced to share the glory and the spoils. It is also easy
to get into the Indian team through doubles, say Markose, Jaseel and
Jaison though George does not agree with this.

And getting the right partner is no joke. Deepak Amarnath, who dazzled
at the sub-junior level, had to wait for nearly three years before
pairing up with Jaison Xavier. The two are now moving up steadily.

But the doubles success has squeezed Kerala of its singles stars.
``There are few takers for singles,'' lamented John of Matha, former
State champion and the current Kerala association secretary. Another
cause for worry is the absence of a strong second string.

``Ernakulam is now the hub of Kerala badminton. But the sad thing is,
leading centres like Kozhikode, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram which
have produced many good players are all drying up,'' observed Vimal
Kumar, who is now a coach with the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy
in Bangalore.

Stan Rayan
from Kochi