Better off training in India than playing

8220;I could lose this ranking very fast,8221; said Baboor, here to play the Rs 1,80,000 Sahara Aspiration India Open, at the MIG Cricket Club. 8220;If I don8217;t play in tournaments abroad for a while, I will lose my points. The rankings are upgraded after every tournament,8221; said the 25-year-old.

8220;Therefore, it is important that I participate in more tournaments. It doesn8217;t make sense playing in here as I don8217;t gain anything except make some money,8221; said Baboor, who will play in another tournament in Gandhidham next week before preparing for the Asian circuit in June.

8220;It is better to train here than play,8221; he added.

Thecareer graph of the Indian rose like sharply when he beat world No 1 and Olympic champion Liu Guoliang China in five games in the Asian Top-12 tournament last month and eventually lost in the semi-finals. This was preceded by wins over No 22 China8217;s Wenge Ma and No 29 Lucjan Blaszcky of Poland in the Qatar Open.

Describing his match against Liu, Baboor said the Qatar Open had given him a boost in confidence and he started in style, 8220;hitting winners like crazy8221;.

Though he lost the second and the fourth games, he lead in all the games. The decider went close and after trailing 18-19, Baboor thought that maybe it was all over. 8220;Then, I hit three winners and the match was mine,8221; he concluded. The Chinese, apparently, lost his head and smashed his racquet even as Baboor savoured in the big win.

His club Enig at Kalmar made the premier division in the Swedish League for the first time this season, meaning he would play with the best in Sweden in both singles and doubles, with Olympic bronze medallistEric Lyndh for company.

But there is still not enough money around, though his employers Indian Oil pay for two open tournaments a year and the government does the same for one or two. 8220;People need to put in their money in the right place for juniors to come up and the game to grow.8221;

The four-time National champion would have liked a travelling coach but can8217;t afford one and misses one only sometimes when things get a bit lonely. His Asian Games endeavor had consequently ended badly, having gone to Bangkok without a coach or practice partner and then falling prey to gastroenteritis.

A place in the top 50 is 8220;realistic8221; but the 25-year-old mechanical engineer still has a few bridges to build.