Sneakers screeched against the court, racquets smashed the shuttlecock, players jumped, threw their fists in the air and yelped in triumph! Last weekend was action-packed at Siddha Town Rajarhat where Shuttle Mania was held, in association with The Telegraph Salt Lake.

“Residents started moving into this complex from around 2013 but it is only last year that we got our sports facilities upgraded,” said Arijit Mukherjee, president of the association of apartment owners. “Cricket and football are promoted everywhere, so we began coaching badminton, chess and basketball.”

In fact, they have three different institutes to coach badminton alone — one for beginners to intermediate level, another intermediate to advance level and also one for the professional level. “This way, students can seamless transition from one to the other,” added treasurer Avik Chatterjee. “The coaching centres are open to outsiders too, and when such students joined Shuttle Mania, we registered them under Siddha Town’s banner.”

Players aim for the birdie at Siddha Town Rajarhat.

Games begin

Three adjacent courts saw 140 matches being played over two days. This was the third tournament for the complex but the first using nylon shuttlecocks. “Feather birdies have a different flight and are more expensive. Nylon is more durable, so we could cut costs to a third,” said Mukherjee.

The tournament was open to players representing clubs, corporates, but mainly housing complexes. “We got participation from over 50 complexes, many from New Town but even from as far off as Bihar and Odisha,” added Chatterjee. “By inviting complexes, we wanted bonhomie among neighbours.”

Love of the game

Many players were IT professionals, but there were also those like Sujata Tripathi of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). “My job is transferable, and I moved to Calcutta in 2023. I’m glad I chose Siddha Town as it has such excellent sporting facilities,” said the player who has previously won bronze at the All India Police Badminton Championship at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.

Niladri Ghosh, a resident and TCS employee, felt the same. “I’ve grown up playing badminton outdoors in winter, but chose a flat here as it has a court. I play all year, but this tournament feels like my Board exam,” he laughed. He and his parter Bidhubhushan Maharana aced the exams and won gold later in the 70+mens’ doubles category. This means their combined age would have to be at least 70.

The mega event needed 30 volunteers working round the clock for three months, and so many of them didn’t manage to take part in the games themselves. “I’m a line judge, sitting outside the court, keeping an eye on whether the birdie lands in or out of the boundary. Even though I’m not playing, this is a terrific job as I get to watch great players,” said Shamim Ahmad Khan. “Such opportunities are dreams we couldn’t realise as kids so we want to ensure our kids can enjoy them.”

Those like Sandip Bhattacharya and Subhra Sarkar were not playing either but were busy running around with legwork and following the game in between.

The under-14 medalists on the dais.

“I am, today, an organiser and player,” smiled Kumar Saheb proudly. “I love doing both, although the latter is tougher. I don’t have time to learn badminton but I know that technique is even more important than practice. My daughter is just two years old now but once she’s older, I shall surely encourage her to train in this lovely sport.”

All praise

After Siddha Town, the highest number of participants hailed from Uniworld City. “I began playing by watching my dad,” said Nabh Srivastava, a resident of the complex and student of Class XI. “And my mom began playing by watching me.” So Nistha and Nabh were a rare mother-son duo at the games. The father was out of town.

This was Sabyasachi Sarkar’s second tournament at Siddha Town. “I learnt badminton till Class IX, gave it up, and then resumed after 30 years as my complex Elita Garden Vista has a court. Such tournaments help us make new friends in the sports circuit,” said the player, who with his partner Hemant Binwal went on to win gold in the 90+ men’s doubles.

Mrunmaye Panigraphi, a Class XI student, had come from Balasore. “This is my first tournament in Calcutta, and I’m amazed to learn that there are coaching centres here in housing complexes. This explains the high standard of players today,” she smiled, delighted with the exposure.

The men’s 70+ champions, both residents of Siddha Town, with their trophy

Highs and lows

The under-14 shuttlers played singles while those aged above 14 played either doubles or mixed doubles.

Anant Agarwal of Class VII had a smooth sail to the junior gold. Every time he conceded a point, mother Priyanka shouted from the sidelines: “Focus!” The boy took deep breaths and regain control of the game.

“My opponent in the final (Niharika Paul) was worthy. I was hoping to play Ayush (Kumar Bor of Siddha Town), as I had seen his games in the earlier rounds and he looked promising, but Niharika defeated him in the semi-finals,” said the Uniworld City resident who has been learning badminton since he was about five years of age. “I also made friends with other players here, like Arman Acharya of Siddha Town.”

Junior silver medallist Niharika had skipped her school (DPS Megacity)’s sports day for the tournament. “I enjoyed the journey and found only the final tough,” said the girl from Elita Garden Vista. “In our age group, girls and boys played together, which I found competitive.” She lost by just one point after three games.

Playing in the senior group mixed doubles was Ria Bhattacharya of Salt Lake’s HB Block. “Salt Lake has parks for cricket and football, but no badminton court that I know of. So I have to go till the Kadapara-Beleghata area to practice. Many play in parks and roads in winter, but we indoor players will not do that as the wind affects the game,” she said.

The men’s doubles open champions receive their prizes

It was clear how passionate the players were about the game when Ria and Mir Asif Hossain lost out to Priyanka Singha Roy and Tushar Singh in the semi-finals (39- 44 in three games), and Ria broke down.

Priyanka Singha Roy’s pair went on to silver in mixed doubles. “I love to play and watch badminton, especially matches starring P.V. Sindhu, and Satwik-Chirag,” said the B.Ed student from Uniworld City. “Having icons in a sport always gives the game a boost among the masses.” Her partner Tushar won silver in men’s doubles open with Subrata Chakraborty and the gold was bagged by Soumya Chakraborty and Aman Kumar of Uniworld City.