It’s the time when young talent is booming in India and making our country achieve new heights in international sporting arena. The young guns have changed the face of the Indian sports not just in the field of cricket, but other sports like boxing, table tennis, lawn tennis and even badminton. Youngsters have come up in every discipline giving it a balanced growth which has considerably increased in the past few years.

Indian sports have gained a much wider reach over the years. After the success of the Indian athletes at London, many sports have gained an attraction from the masses. This is seen as a positive leap towards the growth of sports in India. One such sport is badminton. Here I’ll be talking about the rising shuttler of our country: Parupalli Kashyap.

It was a time when Indian badminton was devoid of a male star and when Saina Nehwal was on a roll beating the top seeds in the women’s draw which is generally shared by the Chinese players and Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan controlled the men’s section. Talking about the Indian contingent it was Chetan Anand,  P. Gopichand and now it’s the time for a new face to shine in the men’s shuttler group and according to me, P. Kashyap is the correct choice.

P. Kashyap started playing badminton at the age of 11 when other kids of his age would probably not know what badminton is and he was out in the courts hitting shuttles and sweating it out to achieve something in the line he choose for himself.  When his family moved to Bangalore, he joined the Padukone academy at Bangalore. When they moved back to Hyderabad, he started training under Indian coach P. Gopichand. But as the saying goes – no one knows what’s next. It was the same case with him. He was diagnosed with asthma which might have ended his career in the sport. There is another saying as well- results are sweetest when achieved with patience. His determination for the game along with proper medication for his illness ensured that he was not kept at bay from his racquets. He eventually emerged victorious and started playing harder on courts thus proved the saying right. From there on, there was no looking back for Kashyap. He went on to win the Boys Junior Title in Andhra Pradesh in the year 2005, and from 2006 he started playing at the international level. The young shuttler emerged victorious on court beating much higher ranked player on court. He even beat Chetan Anand and went on to win gold for his state at the 33^rd National Games.

I saw Kashyap playing for the country at the 2010 Commonwealth Games at New Delhi, India. I was a sports-specific volunteer. He has the peace and calmness in his face and the look in his eyes show the determination he has for the game and for the country. Off court, he is a totally fun guy. He enjoyed a lot with this team mates and other players as well and he went on to win the bronze medal for our country. It’s his hard work, will and determination that has helped the young shuttler reach this point and he surely has a long way to go.

His success continued at this year’s London Olympics as well. He created history by becoming the lone Indian player to reach the quarter finals in badminton. Although he lost the match, he won the hearts of many players both on home soil and foreign soil as well. He has reached a career high of 19 at present.

It won’t be too long before we see another shuttler rising to the top 10 rankings and Kashyap is the best prospect. He is a player with a high potential and deserves more of what he has achieved. He will surely pocket more trophies at the international level and it won’t be long before the Indian flag flutters at the podium and our national anthem is played.

To sum it up, all I will say is – all the best to this Indian shuttler.

‘The present is the past’ is all I’ll say after watching Serena Williams winning a Slam again, adding it to her glorious tennis reign. Three months, three tournaments and three tittles she cannot be described in words for sure.

The three sets score line of 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 for over a period of 2:18 mins is surely the best way to win a championship. It was only the first time in this US Open that she was tested to her limits, but even a second set 2-6 win was not sufficient for the world number one Victoria Azarenka to outclass Serena Williams, who is full of experience which she gained over the years on the tour.

The era of William sisters has come again. There was a time when it was things were not looking so good for Serena due to a health scare, but she proved she is a winner both on court and off court. The three big wins are enough to prove her well-deserved win.

By winning the Open today, Serena created yet another record. She joined her sister and Steffi Graff as the only women to win Wimbledon, Olympics and the US Open in the same year. She also became the second oldest female champion in the Open era.

I can surely say for years and years to come, the elite players in the history of tennis will be remembered always and it will always be a pleasure watching the top guns battling it out.

I’ve heard many people say- When the time comes, everything will be all right.

And the time has come for one person- Andy Murray.  The gold medal win in front of the home crowd at the London Olympics 2012 has proved to be a real breakthrough for the player who gave a decent performance in the 3 slams he played this year. The young Briton took a giant leap in his world rankings with the gold medal at the Olympics along with the Wimbledon and US Open final. He proved himself yet again in tennis and showed that he deserves many more medal and Slams.

Now talking about his semi-final match win against Czech Tomas Berdych gave the Briton another chance to make history after Wimbledon. The score line of his semi final match said it all for him: 5-7 6-2 6-1 7-6. The score line said it all not only for Andy but also for Berdych. The condition on the court made it tough for both of them but it was just another situation of the survival of the fittest. The worst condition where wind was blowing at a high speed, debris blown on the court, chairs and bags sliding in the court’s side line didn’t affect Andy’s determination to be in the second final of a Slam in the same season with a hope that he wins. That is what Andy said after the match- “It’s obviously not easy to lose another slam final, so I hope this one is a different story.”

As far as the Monday’s final is concerned its Andy v/s Djokovic. Djokovic who has been on a roller coaster ride in this season will definitely be a big obstacle on Andy’s journey but Andy has to give is more than 110% to create history after 76 years of British tennis.