I had to raise funds to play in All England: Manoj Kumar

This boy changed the script by becoming the first AP boy to win singles title in sub-junior national championship in 1984.

Hyderabad: Way back in 1981, as an 11-year-old, Manoj Kumar accompanied his father PCS Rao to the Lal Bahadur Indoor Stadium. Little did he know that this venue would be the launching pad for an illustrious career in badminton. But interestingly it was not badminton that Manoj was first noticed. It was in athletics. His father, who played for BHEL badminton team, had admitted his son into Sanga Reddy Hostel in athletics. The young Manoj even finished second in men’s 3000 metres event.

But that love for athletics lasted for a few months. On yet another occasion Manoj again made a visit to Indoor Stadium. His father gave his entry in singles in the LN Gupta memorial tournament. He was playing badminton for the first time. “I did not have much knowledge of the game. I lost to Anirudh Rao in the final,” recollects Manoj.

There was a surprise in store. Watching Manoj in action was Indrasena Reddy, who was then chairman of the AP Sports Council. He immediately asked the young boy to join the sports hostel in Hyderabad which did not have badminton till then. Around this time the enthusiastic Syed Mohd Arif was looking for talent whom he could coach and change things around. “It was my good luck that I found a coach in Arif sir, who believed in giving results. He only stressed on discipline, fitness and work ethics. In the limited facilities, Arif made the best use of the players and turned them into champion players. We had to struggle for shuttles and I saw many times Arif sir pleading for good shuttles with officials,” said Manoj.

Manoj, who was deceptive and fast on the court, began to show a lot of promise. In the 80s, the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh was a non-entity in national badminton. This boy changed the script by becoming the first AP boy to win singles title in sub-junior national championship in 1984. “In the past it was more of participation. My winning the title opened the doors for the start of a new era and in the next few years, AP rose to become the top State in badminton. We won even the South Zone championship,” said Manoj.

Manoj began to grow in stature and he showed his consistency in making a big mark in Indian badminton, both in singles and doubles. For the first time in 1987, he even played in Russian tournament and was in the final in the men’s doubles with Praveen. “It was a big moment for me. Praveen and I began to win titles and began to dominate in the national tournaments. By this time a certain Gopichand began to rise in the badminton world,” said Manoj, who six international medals in his career.

There was a bigger moment for Manoj in 1989 senior National championship where he lost to Vimal Kumar in the semifinals. However, he won the selection for All England championship when he beat Sushant Bora, the conqueror of Prakash Padukone, for the third place. “Even though I was excited to go to England, the biggest worry was raising funds for the trip. The Government agreed for my flight tickets but other expenses were to be borne by the players. I was asked to raise 50,000 for the trip. But that was a huge amount those days. My father could manage Rs 10,000 while late ML Jaisimha sir gave Rs 15,000 through VST and I somehow managed to play in All England.

“I could see the big difference in playing in that tournament, particularly the Yonex shuttles. We were used to the poor standard of Indian shuttles. I was also playing with a poor brand of rackets,’’ said Manoj, who was gradually bothered by a troubled knee.

“There was no sports medicine as such. I still could play till 2006 before I quit the game. I still feel if only we had the same facilities and exposures as the present day players, it could have been a different story. With limited resources, Arif made Hyderabad a nursery of Indian badminton,” said Manoj, now an officer in State Bank of India.

Manoj feels that Indian coaches deserve a better recognition. “The Indian coaches are paid poorly while in comparison to foreign coaches. We need the confidence of the authorities so that we can produce results.”

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