As luck would have it, my first very round opponent was the reigning champion of our college. And he was a family friend too, about four years senior to me. Needless to say, he literally toyed with me even when he gracefully conceded a few points to me. It was an humbling experience for me but I enjoyed it. My opponent went on to win the college championship for the third time. On the day of prize distribution, at the fag end, I heard my name being announced for a special prize. I barely heard it. Then, a friend of mine nudged me to go to the stage to receive a small cup which I treasured for many years.
About four years forward, I went to Hyderabad to study at the Osmania university, the home town and cradle of now world famous shuttlers, Gopichand, Saina Nehwal and Sindhu when they were not even born. On a Sunday morning, I visited an indoor badminton court with my racquet to have a game with anyone present there. When I entered the hall, I noticed a young man a few years senior to me, just hitting and tossing shuttles. So I casually said hello to him and asked if he would like to play a game with me. He looked at me, smiled and said, OK, let us play, let us just knock around without playing a real game. I was a bit surprised at his offer but soon found out why he said what he did!
We started playing and within a minute, I realized that I was totally out of my depth as well as my breath. He was just too good and I could hardly match him stroke for stroke even when he was giving me very easy returns and never smashed even once. And he was very nice, encouraging me all the time with good suggestions and advice. After about half an hour, I felt very tired. I decided to call it quits with his permission, giving him some reason. As I thanked him for his time and shook hands with him, I asked him who he was, what was his name!
'Nandu Natekar' he replied. To my utter surprise and shock, I realized that accidentally and by sheer chance, I had the rare experience of playing with the top badminton player of that time who had already won many titles. A living legend, he went on later to win at many national and international tournaments. I never met him in person again but would always treasure that encounter with the great man on that Sunday morning!
