Raghu Mariswamy’s first impression of badminton was that it was an ‘easy’ sport. He was, 9, then and it soon changed as he started making strides into it.
“At 9, I accompanied my father to his playing club in Mandya, stood on the side and kept saying, badminton is so easy, just stand and hit, what was the big deal? He challenged me to start playing, and after running about I had to admit ‘Oh, sh*t, this is too tough’,” Raghu told The Indian Express.
But his father, a state-level player, was pessimistic about the sport, believing that it will not provide financial safety to his son.
So, he was asked to study science and send to Mysore from Mandya for academics.
“I found studies a waste of time. I wasn’t looking forward to it, unlike badminton. I stopped training and lost to a player I had no business losing to, at a district meet. That’s it. That loss gave me the courage to stand up to my parents. They had told me they wouldn’t support me financially. Dad said India was no country for badminton, and I should stop,” he said.
He decided to stop talking to his parents at 19 to make his way back to the sport as he started training in Bangalore.
Badminton’s reality, at times, questioned his blind faith towards it.
“Srikanth won so many international titles, but even big players weren’t as famous as they should’ve been. My badminton friends in Denmark had sponsorships from BMW, when there were at least 30 of us in India much better than them. It wasn’t easy to keep belief. I don’t know the reason why I rebelled. Just blind faith maybe,” he says.
And the dividends paid off at 26, when his parents sneaked into his Senior National final, despite him trying to stop them.
“I asked them not to come, but they secretly came and sat hidden. After winning, I saw my father talking happily to newspapers, asking sponsors to help me. So I guess he must be happy,” he said.