Kandika Adarsh, carving out his own space in Woodball

Kandika Adarsh indeed is very busy. This youngster already has three degrees - BA, BCom and MBA, tucked under his belt, is presently pursuing his LLB, aspires to crack the civil service while winning medals in woodball.

Hyderabad: Kandika Adarsh indeed is very busy. This youngster already has three degrees – BA, BCom and MBA, tucked under his belt, is presently pursuing his LLB, aspires to crack the civil service while winning medals in woodball.

In a country like India, where majority of youngsters are obsessed with cricket, Adarsh instead chose woodball. And bitten by the bug during his schooling days, he has made quick progress in woodball through his sheer hard work and dedication.

For the unversed, woodball, the sport invented in Taiwan in 1990, is played using a mallet to pass the ball between the gates with swinging tee-shots. It is very much similar to golf, and the player who completes the course in fewer shots wins the game.

“I was introduced to the game by my father Kandika Anjaiah when I was in my ninth standard. He encouraged me to play the game about 10 years ago,” Adarsh said when asked about why he chose the specific sport over other sports.

With the encouragement of his father, who also happens to be a badminton player, the 23-year-old took the sport seriously and he soon realized that woodball can be another option for him to prosper.

Kandika Adarsh also received major support from his coaches, Sandeep and Kumar.

He took part in various state and national-level competitions and won several medals in his career. He won three silvers in 2018, 2021, and 2022, and one bronze in 2019 across different editions of the National Woodball Championships. The young lad also represented the country at two international events – Thailand Woodball World Cup (2019) and the Malaysian International Championship (2019).

Adarsh wants to make a mark in the game and take the game forward by winning medals in the international arena. In addition to winning medals, the youngster who after studying for three degrees and is presently pursuing his LLB, also wants to crack civil services.

“One should keep their mind open to learn new things. Enrolling in multiple courses helped me to enhance my skills. The knowledge gained through earning these degrees will help me in fulfilling my dream of cracking civil services,’’ he says.

His current goal is to win gold in the Asian Games scheduled to take place in China in 2023. He was picked by the Woodball Association of India (WbAi), the governing body for the game of woodball in India, for the Asian Games based on his performances in the national championships.