Kalaga Jagadeesh created a record by becoming the first badminton player from the city to win a title in an all-India tournament, when he beat Kartikeya Gulshan Kumar of Delhi in the boys’ under-17 final of Krishna Khaitan memorial all-India ranking tournament at Chandigarh on Sunday.
A few city players had won veteran singles title at the all-India level, but 15-year-old Jagadeesh was the first player, either in the senior category or junior category, to win a singles title in an all-India event, his coach Muralikrishna said.
When contacted by The Hindu , Jagadeesh, speaking from Chandigarh, said this tournament was a great experience for him and improved his game and confidence.
He is ranked fourth in the tournament and accounted for second seed S. Bora of Assam in the semi-finals and beat third seeded Gulshan Kumar in the final.
He lost the first game in the final, but went on to win the second and trounced the Gulshan in the third and final game at 23-21. Gulshan eliminated top seed A. Dasgupta in the semi-finals.
Jagadeesh’s strength — round head cross-court half-smashes and dribbling at the net — kept him at good stead throughout the tournament, he said.
Son of Suryanarayana of Venkateswara Colony in Thatichetlapalem, Jagadeesh started playing badminton at the Railway Stadium. His father is supporting him in spite of meagre earnings. Jagadeesh is studying in first year Intermediate at Dr. L. Bullayya College.
