Railways beat Tamil Nadu to clinch senior national ball badminton crown

The Railways team won the Senior National Ball Badminton Championship for the 11th time in a row, defeating Tamil Nadu in the final at Dundigal. Coach K Shashi Kumar praised the players, all Star of India awardees, for their consistent brilliance

Hyderabad: One of the less-publicized events in Indian sports could well be the brilliant achievement of the Railways team, which won the Senior National Ball Badminton Championship for the 11th time in a row.

More interestingly, it was under the stewardship of Hyderabadi K Shashi Kumar of South Central Railway (Secunderabad), who took over as the team’s coach after a bronze medal finish 12 years ago.

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“It is immensely satisfying to see the team win again. It was possible because of the all-round brilliance of Kalai Selvan, Rajesh, Sanjay, Vithin, Harish, Mani, Sanjay, Sathya and Vengal Rao. And all the members of the team are Star of India (which is equivalent to the Arjuna Award for a ball badminton player) awardees,” Shashi told Telangana Today after Railways’ triumph in the Nationals in Dundigal (Tamil Nadu).

For the record, in the final, Railways defeated local favourites Tamil Nadu 35-26, 35-18.

“Yes, it was a very tough campaign because the local fans vociferously backed the home team. It was in a way a triumph against all odds, for the atmosphere was not conducive for our team,” said the 56-year-old Railway coach, who along with Jayagan mentored the side.

“Honestly, ball badminton is picking up in the last one year with many districts promoting the sport in a big way, especially in schools,” the Railways coach said. “This is reflected by the fact that Telangana won a bronze in the sub-junior Nationals,” he added.

“Yes, definitely, the good old club culture promoting the sport has waned. But the sport is still pretty popular, especially in rural areas,” he said.

“All that the players look for is a minimum of three tournaments every month in all age groups. We hope to get the desired support since the sport doesn’t require expensive infrastructure,” said Shashi, who was himself a Star of India awardee, having won the Nationals as a player.

Vijay Prasad Reddy, former vice-president of the Ball Badminton Federation of India and also ex-joint secretary of the State Association, congratulated Railways and the support staff.