Fifteen-year-old Sudhanshu Medshikar is no stranger to success,and his list of achievements keeps getting longer every time he steps onto the court. Having won several championships at the state and national level,the Pune lad is currently ranked 5th in the country in the Under-16 Age Group. The young shuttler justified his rapidly growing reputation at the PDMBA Complex in Shivajinagar recently,winning a triple crown at the Pune District Badminton Championships which concluded on Friday. Having already won the Under-16 singles title the previous day,Medshikar also lifted the doubles trophy in the same age group,teaming up with Kaivalya Kumthekar to cruise to a convincing 21-12,21-9 victory over the duo of Sheel Pethe and Narendra Gajendragadkar in the final. After conquering all that was up for grabs in his own age group,the youngster asserted his stature in the citys badminton circuit even further by winning the Under-19 singles title to complete his triple-triumph. Up against older and more experienced players,Medshikar dominated thoroughly,beating seasoned players like Ishan Talwalkar (semifinals) and Neeraj Mahajan (finals) with relative ease en route to the title. I am feeling really good about my game right now,and I am overjoyed that I was able to raise my game and step up to the plate against the experienced Under-19 players, he said. Incidentally,Medshikar is the youngest player ever to win the Under-19 title at the citys premier selection tournament,but this is just another addition to the talented players already-tremendous list of laurels. In fact,another milestone followed closely on its heels,as he was named as the captain of the Pune team for the State Championship to be held at Latur from September 24. Medshikars incredible performance in the District Championship marks a turnaround in his budding career,considering the fact that he was forced to pull out of the state selection tournament in Nanded barely a month ago,conceding as many as three semifinal matches after being hospitalized for dehydration. I have intensified my fitness regimen after that incident,and along with the stamina-building workouts with my trainer Mahendra Gokhale,I have increased my intake of healthy fluids to prevent such an incident occurring again, he stated emphatically. Another incident that boosted his self confidence considerably was his performance at the recently held open tournament in Mumbai,where he gave Maharashtras No.1 player Mayank Gole a run for his money,suffering a narrow 23-21,21-19 loss in the finals of the event. After stretching such a renowned player to the limits of his game,I began to believe in my ability a lot more,and thats what helped me to uplift my game during this tournament, Medshikar smiled. The youngster,who studies at the KJ Gupta College,Chinchwad and trains under coach Anil Modak at the Tata Padukone Badminton Academy,will now participate in the All-India tournament at Chandigarh on August 29 before the state championship at Latur next month. When asked about his future plans,Medshikar expressed a desire to win an All-India title,with his best performance till date being a semifinal showing at Bangalore as well as his hometown Pune. I would also like to take part in some international tournaments,and get some exposure to the level of players around the world, he explained.
