Hemanagendra Babu on cloud nine after winning his first senior National title

Kanika Kanwal and T. Hemanagendra Babu who won the mixed doubles title in the Senior National badminton championship in Pune on February 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

For T. Hemanagendra Babu, it was “better late than never” when he partnered  Kanika Kanwal to down Siddharth Elango and Khushi Gupta 21-17, 21-16 and win the mixed doubles title in the senior National badminton championship in Pune on Monday.

“The long wait has finally ended. I have won about 10 National ranking events but never a senior National title. So, that way, this win is really special and memorable,” he said in a chat with The Hindu.

“The Covid-break dented my dreams of clinching it much earlier,” said a visibly delighted Nagendra, who trains at the Chetan Anand Badminton Academy (Miyapur) here.

“The 45-day camp in Delhi for the Railways squad for the Nationals really helped me fine-tune some rough edges in the game and focus on court movements and reflexes which I still feel need to improve a lot. Interacting with the seniors and the wonderful support staff was of great use,” the Vizag-born shuttler said.

“I should have won the senior national title much before (his previous best in the senior Nationals was a quarterfinal appearance partnering Kidambi Srikanth long back). Anyhow, this is a very important win and I can dream big now,” he said.

“Age can be a factor but if one maintains the desired fitness levels and keeps working hard, it shouldn’t be a hurdle in winning more titles,” said the 27-year-old Hemanagendra, who believes his attacking game is his strong-point and that he needs to work more on his consistency.

“Joining Chetan anna’s academy in 2018 really helped me a lot. Last year I had some very good results including a mixed doubles silver in the Syed Modi International, bronze in men’s doubles, winning the Vizag National-ranking doubles title,” he said.

“The start has been excellent this year and I am very keen to sustain the winning momentum by working really hard,” said Hemanagendra.

“I don’t want to set any targets and invite pressure. I just want to give off my best and keep winning as many titles I can to improve my rankings,” he added.