- By Ernest Joseph
It was that time of the year again – Annual Badminton Tournament. Venue – Amul Assembly Hall. As part of Amul Parivar, Amul club organized may sports, entertainment and recreational events throughout the year. Annual Badminton tournament was one such event for all Amulites to participate.
This year’s tournament had a special meaning for me. I was THE target! Last year I had taken Men’s singles trophy, so I had to defend the title, but I was sure that couple of participants were going to make it damn hard for me to repeat. Yes, we all played this sport recreationally but some of us played competitively. Mr. H. M. Dalaya was the driving force behind Amul Badminton club and with Dalaya uncle’s support, not only we had this annual tournament, but the club also organized participation in local and regional tournaments such as Open Gujarat Badminton tournaments.
In 1976, one such participation was summer coaching camp organized by Kheda district Badminton Association, held in Vallabh Vidyanagar. Anand has history in this sport since 1970’s – Indian National Badminton championship was held in ‘76 at Vallabh Vidyanagar and Anand under guidance of Late Shree Dr. H M. Patel, then union minister of India. That year, Prakash Padukone won the single’s title for the sixth time (and went on to win 4 more). The head coach of the camp, Mr. Suresh Goel himself was national champion 5 times between 1962 to 1970. So, we were fortunate to have tutelage under Mr. Goel.
My favorite moment with Mr. Goel was during the end of the summer camp. He pulled me aside and said “I am going to recommend your name on the list of players who will represent Gujarat under-18 Team. That was the best complement I could have ever dreamt of! I then proceed to tell him that I am 19 years old, about to turn 20. He smiled and offered to treat me with pani-puri snack instead 😉
Oh yes, about the tournament. The draw was favorable in the sense that I was not going to be clashing with a competitive player until semi-finals. The first competitive match of the tournament was the quarterfinal match-up between Arun Dalaya and Yogesh Panchal, both were closely matched in their skills, and both knew each other’s game inside out. This match up was of special interest to me as I was to play semi-finals with the winner of this encounter.
Not surprisingly, the match went to full length of 3 sets with Arun coming out victorious.
OK, so my work was cut out. As I mentioned, we all played together year-round, and represented Amul in various tournaments together. So, we knew each other’s strengths as well as weaknesses. Knowing that Arun was a well-rounded player without any apparent weakness, I knew I was in for a long night.
I don’t remember who won the first set, but by end of set 2, we were tied 1-1. Needless to say, both those sets had lengthy rallies. My playing style was power play, so spending lots of energy on jumps while smashing. This was catching up with me in the third set, when I realize that the score was still tied late in the set, and my energy was sapping, I had to switch my play from power to finesse. I was able to score a point on serve with a flick of my wrist, and then proceed to win next point to close out the match. At the end, we both knew that we had left everything on the court and while only one of us was going to the next round, we both had scored victory for the sport.
Now the finals. Standing between the repeat trophy and I was N. Patanjali. Not only he was a senior player I looked up to and learned from, but he was also stronger and experienced player who will be very difficult to beat. During our participation in outside tournaments, we often paired up as men’s double team, so we knew each other’s playing style very well.
It was the final. And the assembly hall was filled. For the first time, my mom was in the audience! I was so pumped. I had to win this match for her.
As usual, I started with power play. Soon won the first set. In the second set, rallies started to grow longer, with Patanjali changing his tactics and figuring out how to keep the rallies long. Soon, he won the second set. I knew the match was going to be a 3-setter, but now I had to figure out and change my tactic and see how Patanjali will react.
I ditched the power play strategy and started playing strategic placement and making Patanjali cover the court repeatedly from front to back and side to side. Pretty soon I realized he was showing fatigue, and then I knew I just need to keep the strategy until we reach point #21.
This was the last time I had ever played in front of my mom and in the Assembly Hall. Before the time when 1978 annual tournament arrived, I had stopped playing Badminton at Amul Club and had joined Anand Gymkhana badminton club where my students from Homeopathic Medical College had membership and needed me to practice with them.
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