Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian played put a defensive masterclass to harry and hassle his opponent Panitchapon Teeraratsakul 21-13, 21-15 to make the finals of the Junior Badminton World Championships.
The sight of the shuttle drifting wide or sailing long as the Thai was forced into errors going for the lines was the enduring image of the semifinal at Santander. If defensive retrieves had a speedgun, Sankar would rank real high on how quickly he sends back the shuttle. The pace of the rallies was punishing, pushed by Sankar’s relentlessness to send the bird back and draw out errors.
Because the southpaw Sankar sends everything back from the court confines, Teeraratsakul is compelled to go for the lines. Invariably, a mistake happened as the defensive player with impressive shuttle control frustrated the Thai.
The 18-year-old S Sankar had played out a 91 minute quarterfinal, where he absorbed the pressure from Chinese Hu Zen An to prevail in a long match, and followed that up with a semis win.
Not the tallest of shuttlers, Sankar’s game has been built on a bedrock of defense, though he has sharpened his attacking instinct in recent years.
It’s in the southpaw’s retrieving though that he constructs a base for his attack. He can lapse back into keeping the shuttle in play and grit it out. He’s a considerably different style than India’s big names of the last decade – K Srikanth, Prannoy and Sai Praneeth all known for their strokes and attacking flair. Sankar on the other hand, blends grit with a left hander’s grace, his southpaw angle helping along. Unsurprisingly,
Lin Dan, Carolina Marin and Kento Momota were early influences.
“Well, Lin Dan because of what he did to opponents. You know, how he lands very good pressure on opponents?” Sankar had told Express three years ago. From Kento Momota – then at his peak, he hoped to learn deceptions. What Sankar boasts fundamentally – though is speed on his retrieves which comes from classical and naturally strong footwork.
Coach Aravindan Samiappan had explained of the need to add attack to his comfort pf defense: “Till 13 he was so defensive, he realised he’s not winning anything even if he has the best stamina in the country. He realised he has to attack and was very honest about his weakness. Net was not his strengths in 2017.
“We taught him to get fed up of the rally. He added smashes and drives to his existing quick speed. He started playing very good drops at the net, and creating opportunities by putting opponents under a lot of pressure,” he had said.
Sankar’s lunge at the net – which is one of the most under-rated skills in shuttle – has been impressive, though India has high standards in that net pounce with Srikanth and Lakshya Sen’s world class explosive, half hop for the net kill. Sankar’s lunge also ends in some pretty crafty lifts and impressive court coverage. It gives him the advantage on slow courts that big tournament venues tend to be, while negotiating the strolling shuttle.
Sankar was keen on tennis at the outset. “When I started in sport it rained a lot outdoors, so I just wanted something indoors to play all the time.I’ve been very particular about my stamina from the start. But there was so much to learn – net-game, attack, power-play and deception,” he had said.
Sankar could always read a game mid-match and could make up huge leads as well as show composure on the big points.
Training at Fireball academy in Chennai’s Annanagar, Sankar made a serious coach out of him, laughs Aravindan. “His dad is my friend, so I started coaching him and his sister Laxmi Priyanka, 18. Then he became an instant local hit, so now I have confidence to coach two more batches at 6 courts in Annanagar,” he said. The facility has a pool and a gym.
“His father was a Port Trust employee, but from the beginning the family was very sure the kids will make a career in sports. He was always very focussed which surprised me. And then the left-handed strokes,” he said as if not needing to explain the grace that comes as a corollary. That Sankar ate well, always keeping badminton in mind, also impressed the coach.
“I took VRS from Port Trust but though I played tennis primarily, I’ll play a bit of badminton at the government courts. Now my job is to ferry him from school to courts to tournaments. I think he’s good only;” meaning: worth the risk.
