Czech out the badminton duo

On December 3, when the whole attention was on the All India Forest Games...

On December 3, when the whole attention was on the All India Forest Games, six badminton players from Czech Republic Club SK Cesky Krumlov quietly slipped into their rooms at Panjab University guest house and waited anxiously all night for the next day to begin. Among those six players were the talented duo of Ondra Kotyza and Jaromir Janacek-currently ranked number two in Czech Championship and considered one of the best upcoming players from the country.

Currently in Chandigarh to attend a practice camp, the boys are very much excited to play with the local players. 8220;The Indian badminton players are very fast and they play better than the ones in Czech Republic. We are learning so much from them. The Indian players of the likes of Saina Nehwal, Chetan Anand, Arvind Bhat are absolutely fantastic whenever they take the court. We want to play like them and become the best player in Czech Republic,8221; exclaims the 13-year-old Ondra nonchalantly. Meanwhile, his doubles partner, Jaromir shoots how much has fallen in love with India-8220;This is the first time that we have come to India and we are totally in love with the place, especially Chandigarh which is such a beautiful and planned city.8221; With the practice sessions in full flow, the duo is very much impressed with the facility and infra-structure at badminton court in PU. 8220;The badminton hall is much bigger than ours and the wooden floor is also good. We have got special floors for badminton in our country but now we are getting used to play on wooden surface. The exposure will certainly help us to become all-round players,8221; adds Jaromir.

In a country where people love watching or playing just football and ice-hockey, embracing a non-popular game like badminton was certainly a bad idea. 8220;Yes, badminton is not a very popular sport back home but I had no other choice than picking up the badminton racquets because I cannot play football and ice-hockey. So, badminton was the obvious choice as my father used to play the game when he was young,8221; shoots Ondra, a secondary school student. Like in Ondra8217;s case, Jaromir was also drawn to the game after seeing her sister in action. 8220;When I saw her playing I thought it was a fantastic game. I also wanted to play like her and gradually my liking for the game increased,8221; shares the 13-year-old Jaromir. With almost similar likes, the duo did not face any problem while playing as a team. 8220;We were friends even before we started playing as doubles partners eight years back and we both understand each other games-like I play a faster game than Jaromir while he is more precise with his strokes. That is not to say we don8217;t get angry with each other but then it8217;s just during the games. After the match is over, we are good friends like before,8221; says Ondra, who is more outspoken of the two. And truly, when these players are on song, even the best of opposition find it hard to overcome them. Together the duo has played in most of the European countries like Slovakia, Germany, Austria and Slovenia and collected some of the prestigious events including the likes of Slovakia Cup and Austria Cup last year and Tom Cup in Slovenia in 2004, apart from winning the Czech Championship this year.

Currently the duo is looking for some friendly matches with local players. However, they will leave back home on December 29 and immediately join the school. Till then, they will play under the watchful eyes of PU coach Surinder Mahajan and their own coach Radek Votava and correct their flaws and hope that they overcome every player on their way towards glory.