We can’t choose our family, but we can choose our friends. And when we choose wisely, these special bonds last a lifetime. So, for Friendship Day on August 2, we speak to sports persons in the city to know about their “best buds”.
Mithali Raj, cricketer
I have two friends who have stood by me through life — in two different phases, two strong friends. One of them is my friend from school, Harshapriya and the other is Nooshin, who played cricket with me.
In school, I would be away for long periods from classes and as a result I missed out on studies, but it was Harsha who would help. It was such a touching gesture and it made it easier for me to balance school and cricket.
“I met Nooshin in 1998, when I joined the Under 19 women’s cricket team. Since then, she has seen me grow and become the person I am. When we would be out on tournaments, Nooshin was the person who would always be there for me. Yes, my parents were always there, but during times away from family I found immense support in her. Both my friends have been with me through thick and thin. Harsha knows me from the time I was just a school kid and Nooshin knows me from the time I was just starting out in the cricket field.
I’ve always enjoyed being around people who treat me like a normal person and not like Mithali Raj the cricket player... Harsha and Nooshin are the ones.
P. Kashyap — badminton ace
“We usually have friends in the batches we play in and they are your competitors. On the court, we are not so friendly,” Parupalli Kashyap says with a laugh.
“But over the years, we have made many friends from the badminton field itself. Ajay Jayaram and Anand Pawar are my friends from Mumbai. Akshay Dewalkar is also a good friend. And when it comes to Hyderabad, Guru Saidutt, and, of course, Saina Nehwal. Saina and I have been playing in the same age group for many years. There are also many with whom we used to play badminton and now, the friendship doesn’t exist anymore. Sometimes, I bump into them at different events and we talk about how the days used to be. There’s also another friend, Sai Vadlamani, who used to live near my old house and even if I wouldn’t ask much about what he’s up to, he has always been keen to know what’s going on in my life.”
“I have been playing since school so we would be travelling most of the time. Still I have two friends with whom I’m still in touch — Niketan Dadu and Gaurav Modi.” Ask him about 3 am friends, and Kashyap says with a laugh, “Badminton players don’t have any 3 am friends because most of us will be sleeping.”
Pullela Gopichand — coach
“Thanks to badminton and the constant travelling for tournaments, I didn’t have many school friends. Some great friends I have made from the badminton circuit are Dipankar Bhattacharjee and Prabhakar Rao Konda, with whom I have been playing since my under-12 days. In fact, I’m very comfortable with Prabhakar. I really trust him. Even Srikanth Punati is a great friend. Actor Sudheer Babu too is a good friend whom I can call up at any point of the day and ask for help.”
Talking about how he spends time with friends he says, “I’m not the going out kind of a person. So our ‘hangouts’ are more at my place when I call friends over.”
Prannoy H.S. – badminton player
“I have a lot of school friends who I am still in touch with. They have been with me even before I started a career in badminton. And since I started playing for under-13, two friends have stuck to me through thick and thin — Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sai Praneeth. We still play together... They also happen to be my roommates so I can turn to them whenever I am in need, any hour of the day. It’s been over 10 years and I am lucky to have them by my side. Aditya Prakash is another such friend. Another two friends, Arun Vishnu and Arundhati Pantawane, too have stayed by me and I turn to them whenever I need advice. So you see, I have a lot of people who I can count on at anytime of the day.”
