Having climbed back inside the top 25, doubles shuttler Sumeeth Reddy keen to be part of elite group

B. Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri have the unique achievement of being the only Indian men’s doubles team to have qualified for the Olympics. With a career high ranking of 17th and a couple of Grand Prix titles under their belt, they were expected to take it to the next level.

However, since their Rio outing, inconsistency has reared its ugly head as good results have been few and far between. The once-India No. 1 pair also had to relinquish their top spot to the fast-rising duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty.

Having been pushed to the shadows, they have found it hard to make a mark, falling to first round defeats in four consecutive tournaments since reaching the quarter-finals at the India Open in February. A turnaround finally happened in the last couple of weeks, when they made it to the quarter-finals at the New Zealand Open and the semi-finals at the Australian Open. Looking more like their usual selves, the resurgent pair finished as the best performing Indians in Sydney.

It hauled them up six places to 22nd in the current world rankings, which, undoubtedly, is a much-needed encouragement for the three-time national champions. The 26-year-old Reddy hopes that this not only brings them back the belief that went missing, but also prompts the Badminton Association of India (BAI) to put them back in the elite group, where they truly belong.

In a freewheeling chat with Sportskeeda, Reddy opened up about what has pained him, what can help Indian doubles progress further, India’s Thomas Cup chances and much more.

Excerpts:

Q: Congratulations on a great show in Australia and New Zealand. How much confidence-boosting was it before the Thomas Cup?

A: I think this was much needed for us because we were trying to win a few good matches for the last few months. And even though we are not sending our best team, it doesn’t take anything away from the fact that the Thomas Cup is recognized as the topmost tournament in the badminton fraternity. So, we’ll be taking it up as a prestigious event. Winning a few matches before such an event is always a positive sign.

Q: How are you looking forward to the Thomas Cup? How good are India’s chances at the Thomas Cup, according to you?

A: Frankly, we have to accept that we do not have the top players like Srikanth. Also, in doubles, Satwik and Chirag have been in good form lately and they are also not there. We will be competing with a step-below team.

So, I think we should be freely playing whichever matches we can and not think too much about the results. When we don’t have the strongest players playing from India, we just have to have faith in ourselves. Just wait for your opponent to crack down. The pressure is actually on the top teams. For them, they have to win every match and they would be thinking that these are not the top guys.

Our No. 2 player will be playing the No. 1 player of a team. It’s not about just one event. It’s the same in singles as well as doubles. Shlok and Arjun will be playing for the first time and they will try to give their best. Let’s see how it goes.

Q: You and Manu unfortunately didn't have good results since the India Open. What do you think helped to reignite the spark in these last couple of weeks?

A: I think we were very determined to do things in these past few days. Frankly, we were not getting the actual support that was needed from the coach also. I think these two results can obviously help to get back the rhythm that was lacking.

It’s difficult for a player to find out also what exactly went wrong. Every time when we go onto the court, we always think about winning. By thinking too much about this winning, we probably forgot the fact that we just have to play all out. That’s how you can actually perform.

Other than this, a few other factors were involved as well. For example, we were thinking we might be in the Commonwealth Games squad, because we had the advantage in head-to-head by winning the Nationals. All these things did not help us.

It affects your mind somewhere. We lost our focus. Everyone wants to be there in the Commonwealth Games. Everyone wants that medal. There are mostly 2-3 tough teams at the CWG and we have beaten them before. So, not being there had some impact on our mentality.

Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri on the top podium at the Lagos International in 2017

Q: So, do you think that you and Manu managed to completely push aside all that and play freely in New Zealand and Australia?

A: Manu and I somewhat managed to push away all that in these last couple of weeks. But we are still struggling to be a part of the elite groups. Now we are 22nd in the rankings and the first team is 18th. There is not much of a difference. And being the World No. 22, I think we deserve to be in the elite groups. Hoping that the BAI will give us a nod and put us back in the elite group.

Q: You recently tweeted about the injustice meted out to you and Manu by making you guys play the Asian Games qualifiers. Can you please elaborate your thoughts on this?

A: I think being the national champions three times, we have been the most consistent team in the domestic circuit, if you leave out the fact that we haven’t performed that consistently in the international circuit. When there are two pairs and there’s not a third pair, there is not really much competition.

The BAI have given us some seven points of guidelines. I think, for each of the guidelines, we are the best choice. So, I am not sure why we are not in the elite group.

Also, if you look at singles, 4-5 people who are in the top 25 can get into the elite group. So, being 22nd in the world and the second pair in the country, we deserve to be there as well.

Q: What do you think can help you and Manu maintain consistency?

A: If you look into the fact that our results have dropped in the last one-and-a-half year, it is understandable that we haven’t got the results since our new coach has come. Before he came, we were through to the Olympics and we have beaten 10-12 top pairs, which did not get much recognition.

I am not criticizing the coach, but, you have to understand that they have tried for two years and it’s probably not working like it was expected. Now I think you have to move ahead.

If it isn’t working for us, then maybe, get us a different coach. If you look at women’s doubles, there is only one pair -- Sikki and Ashwini. You don’t find the next pair. So, it’s not about one pair in each event. We have to have at least three or four good pairs. You cannot depend on one, because, even in team championships, you need to have at least two.

So, let’s see if BAI can give us another coach, who can give us new thoughts and new ideas. Ultimately, we also want to win. There is another string of people, who will also be benefitted from a new coach, apart from us.

Maybe, someone with a different style can help and get Indian teams in the top 10 or even top five. A change in training can always help. Those who are doing well, can stick to their routines. But the second string, who are struggling now, can surely get help from someone else.

India is doing really well in badminton now. Why not try to win the bigger championships like the Thomas and Uber Cup or the Asian Team Championships? For these, you need a strong back-up -- two doubles and two mixed doubles.

Being in the top 20 is not my target anymore, because we have done it before. But you have to try to be in the top 5 or top 10. That’s what you call a good result.

Q: You are now 22nd and just five places away from your career-best ranking of 17th. Now that you and Manu are playing well, have you guys set a target for yourselves this year, ranking-wise?

A: We haven’t, but, as you told, I think I should be talking to Manu. Why not have top 15 as a target? Let’s see if having that goal helps us get into the top 15.

For the past few days, we just wanted to get a few good results. Now that we have, why not get into the top 15 by the end of the year? That mentality will surely help to boost our confidence further.