Interview with Guru Sai Dutt: "I am looking to break into the top-20"

Considering that Guru Sai Dutt is the third-highest ranked Indian at No.38, he’s pretty low profile. The soft-spoken Hyderabadi, who will turn 23 tomorrow (Thursday), has inched his way up the rankings through some impressive performances in the latter half of 2012.

The year ended on a happy note. With creditable performances in Macau, where he reached the semi-finals, and Mumbai, where he won the Tata Open, Guru affirmed his status as one of the players to watch out for this year. A former World Junior Championships semi-finalist, Guru looks set to rise above his ranking of 38. Excerpts from an extensive interview:

How do you rate your performances in 2012?

The start of the year was up and down. I lost a couple of early rounds in the Superseries. I was injured at the nationals, but later on I believed in myself and my training. From the China Open onwards I had good results.

At Macau, beating (Dionysius) Rumbaka and Chan Yan Kit were very good wins. And winning the Tata Open… and against Chen Yu at the Macau Open, it was a good match, I had my chances in both games. Now I’ve got the rhythm right. I know exactly what I need to do. Whatever training I did for the last six months has started working. Initially, I didn’t get good results although I was playing well. I reached the round of 16 at the Singapore Open, where conditions are difficult, with a lot of drift.

It’s been up and down, but I trusted my training and now I’m getting results. I hope to continue the same way. My ranking is good at 38, and I will look to get into the top 20. I’m sure I can do it, because in the last couple of years I’ve beaten Du Pengyu, Boonsak Ponsana, Kashyap and Dionysius Rumbaka. I definitely have a chance, but I should do it quickly. I feel being in top-20 is the biggest challenge in your career. Top-20 is not easy. Everyone from 30 to 50 is at the same level. You need a lot of patience, need to work really hard. It took Kashyap and Ajay (Jayaram) a long time to get there. Everyone is doing well now — Kashyap, Prannoy, Sai Praneeth, K Srikanth… we all have the potential to be in top 20.

When you reached the semifinals of the World Juniors in 2008, you said you needed to improve your power and strength. Have you managed to achieve that?

The strength has improved over the last couple of years; that’s how I’m able to survive. I was lacking in strength earlier. For my kind of body, I need to keep training on my strength. It’s most important for me. I don’t have to worry about my endurance if I work on my strength. Another increase in 10-15 per cent would help a lot, because you beat one good player and in the quarters you’ll face another good player; that’s where you need a lot of strength.

How would you define your game and what do you need to work on?

Mostly counter-attacking. I need to be consistent every day. That comes in practice, every day without making errors, playing at that pace, that’s more important. That’s showing the results. That’s what I’ve been doing.

Is it difficult to motivate yourself day after day?

Sometimes, yeah… but now the sessions are such that everyone is so well focused. It’s like a business going on. It’s purely business. You have to do it… for yourself, for the country. No one is fooling around (at the academy). Even if you feel like fooling around, you don’t feel like spoiling anything there.

Since there are five-six of you at the same level, is there a fear that the others might get better than you?

That’s always there, because the juniors are doing well: Srikanth has come up; even Sai (Praneeth), Prannoy and Sourabh are my juniors. But you have to accept that Indian badminton is doing better than seven-eight years ago. When I was a junior, I caught up with Kashyap. You need to push harder, that’s the only way you can be better than them.

With the kind of training you’re doing, do you feel you can be good enough to be in the top-20? Or would you need something extra?

Whatever I’m doing now, it’s perfect training, and the preparation is good. I need to continue this for some time. If there’s a problem later, once I reach there, I will have to think about it. I need to put my head down and concentrate on my game.

There is a vacuum in the top ten with several seniors fading out. Is this a good time for players like you to get into the top 15?

Definitely, it’s a good sign for all the juniors now, especially those who are 22 to 24. Lin Dan’s not playing, Gade has retired, Taufik’s going to retire… five-six of them are retiring. The Superseries are open. Like Daren Liew won the French Open. Holding your nerve is the key. All of them are at the same level. Its important you can believe you can win the Superseries. I see a lot of our juniors who are better than juniors in Malaysia or Indonesia.

Are you comfortable with the pace and the power at the Superseries level?

It’s only the confidence and the belief that matters. I don’t see a problem with the fitness level. Your training pattern, recovery and food are important. If any niggle crops up, you need to get rid of it immediately. Five of us have the potential to be in the top 20. I need to believe that I can do it. I need to get consistent every day.

Is it psychological more than physical?

Yes, because we train two-three times every day, so I don’t see a problem physically.

What hobbies do you have?

On weekends, I go home and spend time with my family. I love to spend time with my cousins. Sometimes we go to movies. At the academy, we all love to play cricket if it’s a light training day.

Looking forward to the Indian Badminton League?

It’s going to change the scene in India. All the top players will come, and it will be good for Indian badminton. It will be good for all the Indian players too, and we should make use of it.