‘Tall’ented shuttler aims higher

Harsheel’s body language,moreover,is barely that of a junior player in an open tournament. Between points,he seems lost in a bubble of self-possession,unaware of the person beyond the net radiating an icy disdain for him. This,coming from someone so young,must intimidate any opponent.

At this point,Harsheel is quickly dismantling the feeble challenge of Amit Kshatriya,a fellow junior,to bring up his fourth win in five matches. A day before,he had shocked Akshay Dewalkar,eight years his senior and boasting of a world doubles ranking of 42. Purchased by Gorgeous Gannets for Rs. 90,000,Dewalkar was the most expensive player at the MBL auction.

But it wasn’t an unexpected result. As a category ‘C’ (junior) player,Harsheel was available at a base price of Rs 15,000. But such was the frenzy surrounding his name that it finally cost Graceful Gulls Rs. 70,000. The second most expensive category ‘C’ player,Kaushal Dharmamer,cost Sensational Skylarks Rs. 45,000.

“Our mentors have been watching Harsheel for the last one year,” says Shekhar Jadhao,team owner,Graceful Gulls. “The category didn’t matter. We had to have him at any cost.”

What is it that sets the National under-17 champion apart from everyone else in his age group? Whoever you ask,they invariably come back to his natural talent.

“I’m not very qualified to talk about him,but I play a little bit of badminton myself,and I can tell you that he has so much time to play his shots” says Jadhao. “He has enough time to play the same shot twice.”

Back in Mumbai,Harsheel trains at the Uday Pawar Badminton Academy. “I’ve seen him since he was 5 or 6 years old,a total beginner,” says Pawar. “He’s one of the most skilful players I’ve seen,with immense talent,and has a very good temperament as well. But it’s not enough that you can play every shot in the book,and initially he was quite erratic. But he has matured well in the last two years,and now he knows when to play what shot. And his height and reach gives him a big advantage.”

You can see that in his court coverage,which allows him,with a mere couple of skips,to reach for shots that others would scamper yards to get to. His height also allows him to play overhead shots a significant fraction earlier than most,giving his opponent less recovery time.

With all these gifts,how far has Harsheel set his sights? “I have three All-India tournaments in July,back-to-back,and I’m looking to do well in those so that I can qualify for the under-17 Asian Badminton Championships,” says Harsheel. “My aim is to be in the regular India team. If I get more exposure now,it will only help me get better,” he signs off.