Pune: Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy’s Sanyogita Ghorpade completed a determined and memorable comeback after battling a series of aggravating injuries that prevented consistent training for over a year.
Winning the silver medal in women’s doubles (partnering Karnataka’s Shika Gautam) at the 81st Senior National Championship at Patna, Bihar measured out with several firsts.
Individually, it was her first final (Senior National) after a semi-final show in Jammu & Kashmir 2012. In fact, the last time a Pune player figured in a women’s doubles final was back in 2003-2004. Likewise, the 24-year-old was the lone Pune player on the podium at the Patili Putra Sports Complex, Patna.
Likewise, Sanyogita’s achievement is an NKBA’s best at any Senior National since inception.
Figuring as a wildcard entry at Patna, Sanyogita/ Shikha made their statement by knocking out the No. 4 and No. 2 seeds en route the finals before losing to seasoned Aparna Balan and Prajakta Sawant, the third seeds.
Sanyogita says; “It is a great achievement. A much-needed one and me. I am happy that I am back on track. It has been a tough phase; I guess injuries are always challenging and frustrating to deal with as a professional athlete. Nevertheless, my run to the final, which involves a fantastic performance from my partner (Shikha) is just the right tonic to up my motivation and move on. I would also like to thank Nikhil Sir, and NKBA for helping me all through my need of support.”
Fighting knee injury meant going through a rehab programme and importantly away from the circuit which resulted in Sanyogita’s ranking plummeting. However, once done with the knee injury, the twenty-four-year-old opted to join NKBA in pursuit of getting back to an abruptly stopped playing career.
However, a week into practice at NKBA, Sanyogita, while playing singles fell and ruptured her Achilles and leaving her in despair.
Nikhil Kanetkar, Director and Coach NKBA, said; “When she came to NKBA she had overcome a knee injury and was disappointed as she did not have a doubles partner to play. What happened during practice was shocking and unfortunate. Harsh reality it was.”
For Sanyogita, another injury after recuperating from the one before was a huge blow.
“She was in pain and very let down. But she always would make it a point to say that she wanted to be where she left off,” Nikhil explained.
Undergoing surgery by Dr Shirish Pathak, Sanyogita remained determined well aware that she had to suffer another rest-and-rehab cycle.
“I had no option. I had to wait. I wanted to play. Time was the healer,” Sanyogita adds.
Resuming playing barely three months before the Senior Nationals, Sanyogita had new challenges: finding a partner and lack of playing in any tournament for over a year (January 2015 onwards).
Finally, in Shikha, a seasoned singles player, she struck the right chord, managed a wild-card entry for the Nationals and utilised the opportunity fullest.
Nikhil adds, “Having overcome a real rough patch in her career, the effort that she put in in the lead up to the Nationals is commendable and speaks volumes of individual fighting capabilities. I'm sure she will scale greater heights in the years to come. NKBA is proud of Sanyogita and is an inspiration to all aspiring players.”
RESULTS: SENIOR NATIONALS, PATNA
Final: lost to 3-Aparna Balan (PET)/ Prajakta Sawant (PET) 9-21, 11-21
SF: b 2-Sruthi K.P (Ker)/ Haritha M.H (Ker) 21-14, 21-16
QF: b WC-Ashwini Bhat K. (Ktk)/ Mithula U. K. (Ktk) 22-24, 21-16, 21-13
PQF: b Shenan Christian (Guj)/ Riya Gajjar (Guj) 21-19, 21-15
Rd-2: b 4-Kuhoo Garg (Uttranchal)/ Ningshi Block Hazarika (Assam) 22-20, 25-23
Rd-1: b Prerna Dawar (PNB)/ Siya Sharma (PNB) 21-8, 21-7
