The Hyderabadi shuttler fulfilled his boyhood dream of winning gold at the Commonwealth Games
From left: India's Kashyap Parupalli(gold Medal) Gurusaidutt and P.V.Sindhu (Brounze Medalist) Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow arrive at the Gopichand Academy in a decoracted Chariot in Hyderabad (Photo: AP)
Hyderabad: A bronze-medal winner at the Delhi edition of the Commonwealth Games, shuttler Parupalli Kashyap was a man on a mission to live his boyhood dream of winning gold at the Games. And boy he did that in style in Glasgow. “I always wanted to give my best and win a medal for my country and I am really happy to have won it in this edition of the Games,” the jubilant Hyderabadi told this newspaper after returning home on Tuesday.
“When I won the last point against Derek Wong, all those days of hard work, the effort and the dream of me winning the gold medal and running along with the tri-color just flashed in front of my eyes... I ran to an Indian fan took the flag and ran around the stadium,” he added.The stakes were high, the ambience louder, the heartbeats faster, the hands sweaty, all came down to that one moment, the final point. The match went down to the wire with the scores leveled at 19 points each in the final game. Kashyap held onto his nerves to win the next two and with it the match.
“I never thought I would meet Derek in the final it was an unexpected final. But I was mentally prepared for the match. In the final moments of the match I told myself to not get carried away and to just focus on the next point. It takes a lot of mental strength to do that and I am glad I could pull it off for the country,”Kashyap added. Having not played the Singaporean regularly on the circuit what was Kashyap’s gameplan for the final? “I watched Derek play against Gurusai Datt in the semifinal and I got an idea of his style of play. All I did was back my instincts and play my shots,” he said.
When asked about what his mentor and coach Gopichand was telling him from the sidelines of the match Kashyap revealed, “Gopi sir was just asking me to stay calm and play my natural game and not focus on the outcome of the match. He just asked me to play the next point."
After breaking his jinx of not having won a major event, what next for Kashyap? “We have the World Championships coming up and I hope to continue my form and deliver a win,” he said. What about the Asian Games? “Asian Games is a tough tournament and I will give it my best,” he added.
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