Ground report: Bronze in UAE, gold in Poland: Jalandhar shuttler’s rising journey

Twenty-year-old Jalandhar-based shuttler Abhinav Thakur recently added another feather to his cap by winning bronze in the UAE Open Badminton Championship that concluded a fortnight ago.

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Representing Indian Railways, he also clinched gold at the World Railways Badminton Championship held in Poland. Prior to that, he secured silver at the Senior National Team Badminton Championship held in Bengaluru.

Thakur has an impressive list of achievements to his credit. He has been crowned Punjab champion three times. Until he aged out of the under-19 category, he held the top national ranking. Now competing in the senior category, he stands at 12th in India.

But the path has not been easy for the young athlete. For almost the past nine years, Thakur has lived away from home. He was not even 12 when he joined the prestigious Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad for professional training. Since then, his visits home have been limited to either participating in matches or appearing for exams. A student of Innocent Hearts School in Jalandhar, he is currently pursuing a BBA from Chitkara University.

“Abhinav has worked really hard. He has spent his entire teenage life away from home,” says his father, Sudarshan Thakur, a Senior Audit Officer with Indian Railways. “He comes home hardly twice a year. He hasn’t attended any family function or wedding. His focus is clear—he is determined to qualify for the 2029 Olympics and is already rigorously preparing for it.”

Sharing more about Abhinav’s journey, Sudarshan says, “I was a national-level volleyball player myself. My daughter Parul Thakur, who is currently pursuing her PhD at Panjab University, was also a national-level badminton champion but left the sport midway to focus on her studies. Abhinav, our younger child, began following his sister to the Raizada Hansraj Stadium in Jalandhar when he was just eight. Soon, he expressed his desire to pursue badminton seriously. After he became Punjab champion, we decided to get him trained at the top academy in the country.”

“While he was in the under-19 category, Abhinav had support from Khelo India. But now, all his training and tournament expenses fall on us. We pay Rs 30,000 a month for his training alone. Participating in international events to maintain his rank costs us around Rs 15 to 20 lakh annually,” Sudarshan added. “We are actively looking for sponsorships to support his journey. The District Badminton Association has been a great help—whenever he wins a medal, they offer a cash incentive. But the overall expenses are far too high.”