From potential quitter to winner: Badminton champ Kaushal Dharmamer makes it!

Shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer during the final of the Yonex-Sunrise VV Natu Memorial All-India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament in Pune

City shuttler Kaushal Dharmamer, who underwent knee surgery in 2020, is elated to have won the men's title at the Yonex-Sunrise VV Natu Memorial All-India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament in Pune on October 22. In the men's final at Pune, Dharmamer beat Rohan Gurbani 21-10, 21-16. He said the victory infused renewed confidence in him. "The win in Pune is special for more ways than one. It is the first title after my knee surgery [in 2020] and COVID-19. The last title I won was in 2019 in Maldives, after which I had few good performances, like a few All India finals and played the Premier Badminton League. But I had not won a title. I started playing only in September and played four back-to-back tournaments, but it was only in the fourth one in Pune that I won a title," said Dharmamer, who is employed with the Central Railways as a CC/TT (a merged post especially created for him of a commercial cum ticket clerk at Wadala station).

Also read: French Open badminton: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty win men's doubles title

Dharmamer, 26, considers Pune his lucky hunting ground. "What makes Pune special is the fact that this is the second time I won there. I clinched the same title in 2017. It was kind of special to do it there again. A couple of years ago, I won the Sushant Chipalkatti Memorial U-19 title in Pune. That way, Pune has been a lucky charm. Also, having coach Anand Pawar at the tournament, guiding me at critical junctures helped a lot. Mumbai for some reason and surprisingly has very few tournaments. I have twice won the Gautam Thakkar event at Bombay Gymkhana and lost in the finals of the Infosys Open in 2019," said the Malad resident, who thanked his parents for shifting residence from Santacruz to Malad to ensure he could train at the Uday Pawar Badminton Academy under Uday and Anand Pawar at the Goregaon Sports Club.

Meanwhile, the shuttler revealed that there were times when he pondered over bidding adieu to the sport. "What kept me going was the love for the game and desire. But I will be lying if I'd say that there wasn't a time when I did consider quitting. The thought of hanging up the boots did come many times. COVID-19 was unprecedented and most athletes suffered, including me. There have been a couple of injuries, but this is the first time I had meniscus surgery (operation to remove or repair a torn meniscus, a piece of cartilage in the knee). The support of parents, a well-informed physio, patience of coaches (Uday sir and Anand) have been critical," said Dharmamer, who was India No.3 in the men's section way back in 2015. He will now participate in the Yonex-Sunrise All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament in Visakhapatnam from October 31 to November 6 and another All India Ranking tournament in Hyderabad in the second week of November.