Calcutta: Sonipat is known as the cradle of Indian wrestling. It's the district in Haryana that has produced a host of world-class wrestlers. At Sonipat, they say, wrestling is a way of life.

But not Saurabh Sharma. At a very young age, coaxed by his father Ram Kanwar, Saurabh dumped the akhadas and chose badminton instead. "My dad, who was a wrestler himself, said there was every chance of getting injured during a bout. There was every possibility of my career as a wrestler getting ruined since it was a body-contact game.

"But at the same time, he wanted me to make a career out of sports. And hence, I started playing badminton," said the young shuttler, who along with Vighnesh Devlekar, is being talked about at the Gopichand Badminton Academy as the future doubles stars of world badminton.

"You know I have made a promise to my dad... I would prove that Sonipat is not just about wrestling. There is more about that place. And I want to win a medal in the Olympics to put badminton on a par with wrestling. That's my dream... That's my promise to dad," he said at the SAI Indoor hall on Friday. Saurabh has won the under-13 nationals and is under the watchful eyes of Gopichand from 2010.

In town for the Bishnupriya Kundu Memorial All India Senior Doubles Ranking Badminton Tournament, Saurabh and Vighnesh entered the final where they will take on Chetan Anand and V. Diju. This is the second tournament Saurabh will be playing with Vighnesh after the Valsad Ranking Tournament which the duo won.

Vighnesh is from Thane and moved to Hyderabad much later. "I am from the Thane Badminton Academy and moved to Hyderabad because my doubles and mixed doubles partners are with Gopi Sir," he said.

Vighnesh's tale is something similar to Saurabh's. His dad Ganesh was a club-level cricketer, but didn't want his son to be a cricketer. "I played kho-kho at the junior level and then I fell for the shuttles," the 21-year-old said.