Exclusive: Meet Varun Kapur, Former Junior World No.1 Who Discovered His Tryst With Badminton Accidently

New Delhi: From shifting his base to Pune for better preparations to achieving world number one ranking at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in the under-19 category, Varun Kapur has seen it all in his short career. In an exclusive conversation with india.com, Kapur talks about his early memory of badminton, his biggest achievement, his trsyt with badminton through an accidental tournament and much more.

For Kapur, Badminton was a recreational activity and a medium to meet his friends in his early days. Kapur said,”I used to visit this club in Kolkata which had a lot of sports. As you will be aware that club culture is very famous in Kolkata. At the age of 11, I decided that I wanted to pursue this as a career and as a result I shifted to Pune.”

The 19-year-old who is supported by the Virat Kohli Foundation (VKF) in his badminton career, was full of praises for Virat Kohli and also talked about an online interaction with the modern master. Kapur said,”They spoke to my father and explained everything what they can do for us. I had an opportunity to meet him virtually and he advised us not take anything for granted. He insisted that sportspersons should stay the same in good and bad times.”

Kapur also stressed on the fact that the way game is evolving, player has to be physically and mentally fit to succeed. On being asked more on this, Kapur explained,”It’s not just the skill of the stroke or the technique, one has to be strong physically and mentally on the court. These small things make so much difference in the match while facing an opponent. That’s what I am trying to work on.”

Every young player has an ideal whom he/she tries to replicate. When asked about his idol, without any delay, Kapur without any hesitation said – Lin Dan from China.”You can learn so much from him. The intensity with which he plays every match is incredible. One of my favourite shots is where he drops and flicks it to cross-court. I even try to replicate it and have learned quite a few tricks from his matches.”

In the end, the young shuttler also talked about the sacrifices his parents made for his career. Kapur concluded,”When I shifted to Pune from Kolkata, my mother shifted with me. She already had a job in Kolkata and had to quit because of my career.”