After 32 years, the men’s singles gold from the Commonwealth Games is back in India. The man making it possible was P. Kashyap. In fact, since his birth in 1986, the Malaysians had monopolized the men’s singles title at the Games. Therefore, Kashyap’s feat should be lauded for more reasons than one.
It must be remembered the World No. 1 and defending champion Lee Chong Wei stayed away due to injury and gave hope to other aspirants of topping the podium. Kashyap produced a series of gritty performances towards the business end of the competition to make amends for his disappointing show in the team event, particularly in the semifinals against England.
Kashyap’s straight game loss to Rajiv Ouseph upset India’s calculations. This defeat, coupled with the expected losses in the mixed doubles and men’s doubles meant India went down 3-0 without getting to play the women’s singles and doubles.
But credit to Kashyap for shaking off the disappointment and getting even with Ouseph in the singles semifinals. Even in the 2010 edition the two faced-off for a place in the final and Ouseph emerged stronger. This time, Kashyap turned the tables after dropping the first game. He produced another fighting performance in the deciding game of the final against Derek Wong to complete a dream run.
Kashyap, seeded two, did not inspire much performance going into the competition. Having won the bronze in 2010 by beating the 2006 bronze medalist Chetan Anand, Kashyap was expected to be among the medals provided he was consistent.
His results this year, came as they did following his shoulder injury late last year, were far from encouraging. The 2012 Olympic quarterfinalist only reached the semifinals once. Out of the 10 competitions, Kashyap failed to get past the first round four times and thrice exited in the second round. Even in the Thomas Cup, the team championship for men, he lost twice from three outings.
Given this background, Kashyap’s gold-winning effort assumes a different meaning. He defied the odds to play to this seeding to reach the final. He should be thankful to teammate R. M. V. Gurusaidutt for taking out the top seeded Malaysian Chong Wei Feng in the quarterfinals. Kashyap’s triumph should give him the much-needed confidence ahead of the World championship and Asian Games.
For a man struggling with form and fitness, the glitter of gold could not have come at a better time.
