Aman Farogh Sanjay aims to excel at the Lithuanian International badminton tournament

Aman Farogh Sanjay will compete at the RSL Lithuanian International Future Series Badminton tournament slated to get underway in Kaunas, Lithuania, from June 10.

The four-day tournament, organized by the Lithuanian Badminton Federation under the auspices of the Badminton World Federation, will be played in Kaunas, a city in south-central Lithuania.

Aman Farogh Sanjay, the Thane-based shuttler, heaved a sigh of relief when he got the visa amid tough travel restrictions because of COVID-19.

The young left-handed shuttler has been seeded seventh in the qualifiers. Sanjay will have to earn a place in the 32-player main draw through qualification.

Aman Farogh Sanjay got a bye in the first round and will take on the winner of Alex Lanier (France) and Michael Tomic (Austria) in the second round. He will have to win at least three rounds to clinch a berth in the main draw.

Sanjay will be the lone Indian to participate in the tournament. Other Indians, including S Sankar Muthusamy Subraninan, who was seeded eighth, and Anirudh Janardhanan, have pulled out of the tourney.

Nagpur teenager Malvika Bansod, who recently reached the women’s singles quarter-final at the Austrian Open, has also pulled out of the tournament. Malvika Bansod was given third seeded in the women’s singles.

Sanjay had this to say about the opportunity to play in this tournament,

“Due to the present situation most of the Indian players are not traveling abroad to play the tournaments. But I wanted to get going and start competing in the overseas tournaments to earn some valuable points to increase my rankings. I have the visa and I will be heading to Lithuania in a couple of days time.”

Sanjay finished runner-up at the Kenya International tournament in February 2019.

he 21-year-old is currently ranked at world No. 711. He was ranked quite higher in the Under-19 category before he graduated to the seniors’ level from 2019.

I trained hard in the gym during lockdown, says Aman Farogh Sanjay

Aman Farogh Sanjay is a former winner of the Khelo India Youth Games. As for his physical preparation, Sanjay said,

“I was maintaining my fitness in the lockdown and whenever I got the chance I used to play. I wanted to test myself in the tournaments and that is the reason I am participating in the international tournament.”

Head coach of the Thane Badminton Academy, Shrikant Vad, is optimistic about his ward’s success at the upcoming tournament. With regards to Aman FaroghSanjay, Shrikant said,

“Aman was No. 1 in India in the Under-19 boys singles. He is very promising. He wants to carry the good show in the seniors too and wants to establish himself in the men’s singles. This tournament will provide him with good exposure. If he plays to his potential, he should earn some valuable points which will boost his confidence.”