“You can learn a lot from them” - Dhruv Kapila on Satwik and Chirag’s influence on the upcoming Indian badminton players [Exclusive]
After his triumph at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Dhruv Kapila returned home to a small, quiet celebratory dinner with his family.
The 23-year-old from Ludhiana was part of the men’s badminton team that won a historic silver medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. While this kind of victory usually accounts for a huge celebration, things were a little different this time around. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, Kapila said,
“I'll tell you, last year, when we won the Thomas Cup, we had a very big welcome there. My family had a very big welcome for me. But this time, unfortunately, my grandparents passed away this year. So, we didn't want to celebrate much. So, it was just like normal, having a good dinner with family and sitting. So that's it."
“Mathias is also doing a great job” -Dhruv on Mathias Boe’s impact on men’s doubles in India
Indian badminton has seen a steady rise in the last decade. With the likes of Saina Nehwal, P V Sindhu, HS Prannoy, and Kidambi Srikanth, India had already established itself as a powerhouse in singles, but it was only in recent years that the doubles players started making an impact in world badminton. Dhruv Kaplia expressed his views on this and said,
“See, basically, it's just a matter of time, and you need a good, great experience basically. Akshan and Deep, I think they're India number one right now in seniors and I think they are doing great. And it's just that you have to play more international events to come to that level and keep on, especially if you see satwiksairaj-rankireddy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Satwik-chirag-shetty" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Chirag. They are the main, key of India."
Talking about Satwik and Chirag’s success as a doubles pair, Kapila highlighted their off-court training regime. He said,
“If you keep on practicing and see how they do every time, you can learn a lot from them, especially like the off-court training, what Chirag and Satwik do. Because even I follow everything what they do, they have been helping us a lot. Me and Arjun, whenever we are training with them, most of the time we only train together. So, it's very good sessions for us also. And for I think Akshan, Deep, the rest of them, and doubles, whoever are here and learning still, I think they take time, but they'll come up eventually.”
The appointment of Mathias Boe as the new coach for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty has seen the Indian duo scale new heights. A gold at the Asian Games and achieving the coveted number one position in the world rankings are testaments to the same.
“I think they have got Mathias now. Mathias is also doing a great job; he has taken Satwik Chirag to ranking one. So, I think it's great.”
Dhruv concluded by praising the rise in the number of top-level academies and the quality of coaches in the country for the rise of Indian badminton.
“I think it's going very well at the Gopichand Academy, and in India also, many academies have now opened, and I think they have many foreign coaches. So eventually we are coming up in every prospect.”