Badminton: How two talented Indian singles players are coming together for an unlikely Paris push in mixed doubles
Can two predominantly singles players jam together for a season-and-half and qualify in mixed doubles for the Paris Olympics? Bangalore coach Ajit Wijetilekk brought together the audacious talents of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, and the duo recently picked their second International Challenge title, at Iran, besting the seasoned combine of Sikki Reddy and Sumeeth Reddy.“I don’t know what the coach was thinking when he decided to pair us up. I hadn’t been playing doubles for 6-7 months, but when coach said I should try this, I trusted him and didn’t question him,” Sathish says. “There’s a plan.”
There’s only a remote chance of India sending a mixed pairing to Paris, but the youngsters in their early 20s have decided to have a good go. They came from World No 432 last sea...