Reputation Rattified

Who is Sachin Ratti? For badminton afficianado in India, he is among the handful of promising shuttlers, who have shown flashes of promise. But repeating the question again, the answer lies in: Ratti is the only Indian shuttler to beat twice the former All-England Champion Pullela Gopichand at his peak.

After beating Gopi last November, Sachin created sensation last week, when he scalped the champion again at a prestigious touranment in Kanpur.

Ask Sachin about his secret weapon, and Gopi describes it better. 8220;He Sachin plays unorthodox shots in pressure situations, when others would not risk it. This unpredictability worries his rivals8221; say the Indian No. 1. It therefore doesn8217;t come as a surprise that Sachin idolizes Dane Peter Gade Christensen? 8220;You need to be a lateral thinker,8221; reacts Sachin.

It may be just pure wishful thinking but many will agree that the country has a new badminton star in the making after Gopichand, who had otherwise not lost to any player at the domestic circuit in the last five years.

Sachin was the winner of the New Zealand Open in 1999 and also guided India to the title in the World Railway Games held at the Czech Republic in 1996.

However, he has never won the National title, his best performance being a semi-final appearance at New Delhi in 1998 which he lost to Gopi. 8220;I hope it will be my turn next,8221; says Sachin confidently.

The battle between Sachin-Gopi has always been close with both having run into each other about a dozen times. 8220;Barring two instances when Gopi beat me hollow, the rest have been close which include five matches extending to the fullest,8221; said Sachin.

However, the Jalandhar-based shuttler feels the comparision is unfair. 8220;The difference between us in world standards is more than 240 places.8221;

His father Chamalal, a badminton coach added, 8220;He is a born winner and a hard worker too, but so far he had very few opportunities to prove himself.8221;

Sachin had been shortlisted for the SAFF Games to be held in Islamabad but unfortunately the Games were postponed. His rise has also been pretty tough. As a talented junior 8212; which includes a double crown at Calcutta in 1998, Sachin is even today considered as a second string player. Imagine coping with regulars in Nikhil Kanetkar, Abhinn Shyam Gupta, Chetan Anand and Siddharth Jain for a singles berth on the Indian team.

Sachin, the youngest of the Rattis, had ready-made sparring partners in sister Sapna 8212; a junior doubles champion Mizoram 8217;98 and brother Gagan, a part-timer. Currently Sachin trains at New Delhi under internationals Madhumita Bhist and Vikram Singh.

Having scaled the Indin summit, Sachin, a head TTE with Northern Railway, is now looking at a wider horizon 8212; the forthcoming Commonwealth Games in Manchester and improving his world rankings. Gopi has a word of advice for him: Focus on international events and don8217;t get carried off by victories in the domestic circuit.