Kanika Kanwal and T. Hemanagendra Babu who won the mixed doubles title in the Senior National badminton championship in Pune on February 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For T. Hemanagendra Babu, it was “better late than never” when he partnered Kanika Kanwal to down Siddharth Elango and Khushi Gupta 21-17, 21-16 and win the mixed doubles title in the senior National badminton championship in Pune on Monday.
“The long wait has finally ended. I have won about 10 National ranking events but never a senior National title. So, that way, this win is really special and memorable,” he said in a chat with The Hindu.
“The Covid-break dented my dreams of clinching it much earlier,” said a visibly delighted Nagendra, who trains at the Chetan Anand Badminton Academy (Miyapur) here.
“The 45-day camp in Delhi for the Railways squad for the Nationals really helped me fine-tune some rough edges in the game and focus on court movements and reflexes which I still feel need to improve a lot. Interacting with the seniors and the wonderful support staff was of great use,” the Vizag-born shuttler said.
“I should have won the senior national title much before (his previous best in the senior Nationals was a quarterfinal appearance partnering Kidambi Srikanth long back). Anyhow, this is a very important win and I can dream big now,” he said.
“Age can be a factor but if one maintains the desired fitness levels and keeps working hard, it shouldn’t be a hurdle in winning more titles,” said the 27-year-old Hemanagendra, who believes his attacking game is his strong-point and that he needs to work more on his consistency.
“Joining Chetan anna’s academy in 2018 really helped me a lot. Last year I had some very good results including a mixed doubles silver in the Syed Modi International, bronze in men’s doubles, winning the Vizag National-ranking doubles title,” he said.
“The start has been excellent this year and I am very keen to sustain the winning momentum by working really hard,” said Hemanagendra.
“I don’t want to set any targets and invite pressure. I just want to give off my best and keep winning as many titles I can to improve my rankings,” he added.