Bengaluru: A silver medal at the recent India Junior International Grand Prix at Pune came as an important milestone in Rahul Bhardwaj’s comeback trail.
A knee injury, sustained in 2015, had kept him out of action for several months. The runner-up finish at Pune has given Bhardwaj much-needed confidence ahead of the BWF World junior badminton championships to be held at Yogyakarta (Indonesia) in October.
“That was a good tournament for me. My world junior ranking has now improved to 120. It was in the 1000’s before the tournament began,” Bhardwaj, who entered the event as a qualifier, said.
The 17-year-old is ready to put his injury woes behind him with a good show at the Worlds. “The Indian players are very good. We have a very good chance to win a medal,” he said.
The shuttler takes motivation from World No. 2 and fellow Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy trainee Lakshya Sen.
“We were playing at the same level for some time, then Lakshya excelled. He’s playing very well. It’s a motivation not just for me, but for everyone to get to his level,” Bhardwaj said.
