CHENNAI: For the past few years, Tamil Nadu have demonstrated its prowess in para badminton. The ongoing Asian Para Games are a proof with several players from the state going on to clinch medals. On the penultimate day, Naveen Sivakumar secured gold in the men’s SL4 category by defeating multiple-time champion Fredy Setiawan in straight games.Paris Paralympics silver medallist Thulasimathi Murugesan capped off her campaign by clinching the women’s doubles title (SL3-SU5 category) after having won two silver medals in singles (SU5) and mixed doubles (SL3-SU5) events, earlier in the day. Meanwhile, Paris Paralympics bronze medallist Nithya Sre Sivan settled for silver in women’s SH6 class.On Friday, Naveen did not have to break much sweat in his 21-9, 21-17 win over the Indonesian. “I trained for the last two to three months by analysing my opponents. Setiawan and I have faced each other multiple times, and I knew his gameplay. There was not much pressure, as none of the players in the competition were new to me,” Naveen, a mechanical engineering graduate, told TOI.Born with clubfoot in left leg, 22-year-old Naveen began his badminton journey in 2016, playing alongside able-bodied players as he was unaware of the existence of para badminton. In a year’s time, upon the suggestion of his first coach Madan, he shifted to para. Even after shifting, he continued to play with able-bodied players till the U-19 level.“It was very tough to play with able-bodied players when I was young. I would often lose badly and reaching the pre-quarterfinals was very difficult. One good thing is that I strengthened my basics by playing with them and that is one of the reasons why I am doing well now,” Naveen, who also won bronze in men’s doubles, said.After training for the whole year in 2022, he clinched bronze in nationals which helped him earn sponsorship. He could not compete in international events that year because of lack of funds.A fan of Lin Dan, Naveen would sit with his coach to watch the Chinese legend’s matches and learn about him. “I want to be a player like him. One quality I admire about him is that his mindset and patience are different from those of other players. He does not get under pressure easily, and even when matches go down to the wire, he is on the winning side most of the time.”
