Siril Verma punches above weight to return with silver at Junior Worlds
World Junior badminton silver medalist Siril Verma gets a kiss from his mother Sushila after arriving in Hyderabad on Wednesday. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: While we lap up laurels being brought in by the Sainas, Sindhus, Srikanths and Kashyaps at the senior level, here’s another suave shuttler who has burst onto the international stage. Siril Verma is the new kid on the badminton block.
At 16, the City lad has just won silver at the Badminton World Junior Championships in Lima (Peru in South America) and has set himself up for greater glory. “It’s surreal,” he says of the shiny medal around his neck. That’s because he has had to slay super heavyweights on way to the summit clash.
“After the first two rounds, everyone I faced was a seed and so I was nervous initially, but then I got into rhythm. Once I beat ninth seeded Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand 21-13, 21-13 in the third round, I gained a lot of confidence which powered me on,” the Indian Junior No.1 explained.
The shuttler then accounted for third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark 21-12, 18-21, 21-15. Up next in the quarters was the 10th seed from Thailand R. Satheishtharan, whom Siril silenced in straight games 21-15, 21-14. The scoreline was a repeat in the semis where Siril stunned another Thai, 14th seeded Adulrach Namkul before going down in three games to Chia Hung Lu, the sixth seed from Chinese Taipei, 21-17, 10-21, 7-21 in the title round.
That effort should boost his ranking a great deal. “In all probability, I will break into the Top 10 at the junior level (he is currently World No.29) when the next rankings are released,” says the Class XII student of Glendale Academy, which according to him has played its part in his success. “The school correspondent Mr Salman Babu Khan has been hugely supportive of my sporting career ever since I was in the sixth standard,” he says.
Siril is also thankful to national coach Pullela Gopichand at whose academy he trains. “I am lucky to be part of the Academy for the last 10 years. He has been so helpful. Also, playing with top players at the Academy gives me a lot of experience, and the infrastructure there is fabulous,” he says.
Next on Siril’s radar is the gold that he just missed out on, as also the No.1 ranking. “In two more years, I have to reach the top,” he declares. Lauding his achievement, the Hyderabad District Badminton Association president V. Chamundeswarnath presented Siril with a cash award of Rs 2 lakh.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
