Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian: A young shuttler worth watching out for in the future

Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian won his maiden international title by triumphing in the Junior White Nights Badminton Series at Gatchina in Russia on Sunday.

Despite winning his first title, 17-year-old Sankar Muthusamy did not rate it as the biggest moment of his career so far. Instead, a match against world No. 17 Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in the Indian Premier League (PBL) was, for him, the best moment of his life so far.

“I was part of the Chennai Superstarz team in the last edition of the PBL. I was the youngest member of the side at 16 years. I was just happy to be part of the most popular badminton league in the world. The icing on the cake was playing a match against Hong Kong Super Series champion Lee Cheuk Yui. Although I lost 9-15, 12-15 it was a phenomenal experience for me,” said Sankar Muthusamy, who is world No. 11 in the Under-19 boys singles.

Recalling that memorable match against one of the best players in the world, Sankar Muthusamy said he put up a good fight against his fancied rival.

“I gave my all. It was nothing to lose and everything to gain for me. I got huge support from my teammates and the crowd at Hyderabad's Gachibowli Stadium. In the second game, I did quite well. It really boosted my confidence,” said Sankar Muthusamy.

On Sunday, in an all-India Under-19 boys’ singles final, top seed Sankar Muthusamy thumped Saneeth Dayanand Shimoga 21-10, 21-13 in 35 minutes. In the girls’ singles, 17-year-old Tanya Hemanth of Karnataka triumphed.

“It was my first meeting with Saneeth Dayanand. We never played against each other in the All India Ranking tournaments either. Unseeded Saneeth reached the final after shocking a couple of seeded players. I was confident of a win as I was playing well and in good shape,” said Sankar Muthusamy.

On the way to the title, the left-handed shuttler from Tamil Nadu got past European players with his brilliant all-round game. He faced his toughest challenge in the quarter-finals against Aleksandr Gurianov. The tall Russian won the first game and stretched Sankar to three games. Rallying back strongly, Sankar won 19-21, 21-4, 21-7.

Doing well in the seniors is my top priority: Sankar Muthusamy

“All my European opponents were tall and strong. Irrespective of the scores, they offered a stiff fight and it was not easy to get the better of them. I am glad that I managed to live up to my top billing and won my first international Under-19 boys singles title. I want to continue my performance in the next month’s Denmark Open. I also want to do well in the seniors category. In fact, doing well in the men’s singles is my top priority,” said Sankar, who is a trainee of Fireball Badminton Academy.

Sankar Mutusamy, who is world No. 252 in the seniors, finished runner-up at the Uganda International tournament in Kampala in February 2021. In the men’s singles final, Varun Kapur edged past Sankar in three games.

“I would like to give my special thanks to Fireball Academy and my coach Aravindan. I would also like to thank GoSports Voices, TOPS and Tamil Nadu Badminton Association for my success so far,” said Sankar.

Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian with his winners' trophy in Russia on Sunday

Sankar is expected to break into the world’s top-5 rankings in the Under-19 boys singles when the BWF updates its rankings.

His sister SS Lakshmi Priyanka performs the role of a mentor for Sankar. She prepares a schedule for each and every day before every tournament.

Sankar reached the semi-finals at one of the All India Senior Ranking tournaments last season. He also bagged a bronze medal in the Asian Junior Badminton Championships.

All these performances suggest that Sankar is definitely a player to be watched out for in the future.