Triple delight for city player

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, December 8

Ram Lakhan (57), a resident of Rama Mandi, has brought laurels to the state by bagging three titles during the Yonex-Sunrise All India Masters Ranking Badminton Tournament held at Dhanwate National College in Nagpur.

The Nagpur District Badminton Association organised the badminton championship from December 1 to 7. Besides, he was also adjudged the best player (male) of the tournament.

Lakhan said he made it to all three finals (men’s single, doubles and mixed doubles) in the 55+ category. In the men’s single final, he defeated third seed Nandkishore Kulkarni of Karnataka 21-10, 21-6.

In the doubles category, he paired with Harjit Singh of Delhi and trounced top seeds Bibash Chatterjee and Yogesh Sanghavi 21-19, 21-11 in the final.

In the mixed doubles, the city man paired with Manjusha Sahasrabuddhe and stunned top seeds Harjit Singh and Sukesha Saggi of Uttar Pradesh 21-5, 21-9 to clinch the mixed double title.

Lakhan said players from across the country delivered emphatic performances during the tournament. He said he felt proud and blessed to have won the best player (male) title.

About his interest in badminton, Ram Lakhan, who has been retired from the electricity board, said, “My father was a fourth class employee at the Sub Divisional Magistrate court in Nawanshahr. I always thought that badminton was the game of the elite and I would never get a chance to play it. I never learnt the game or took any professional training. I learnt the game while observing other players.”

“I am a matriculate, but I was a national-level badminton champion in the school. My father had no money so I was forced to drop my studies. As I was a national-level player, I got a job in the electricity department,” said Lakhan, adding that his journey of winning championships and honing his skills started after he represented the electricity department in various tournaments.

In 2004, he had won the world badminton championship in Malaysia. In 2012, he had won the New Zealand championship and he had won a silver medal during the Asian Pacific Master Games held in Malaysia in 2018.