New Delhi [India], July 17 : Former world number one junior badminton player Varun Kapur lauded star players Lakshya Sen and men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty for their recent title wins and said that even he is working in the direction to play in Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour tournaments like them.
In an interview with ANI, Varun discussed how he took up badminton as a kid, his training regime, role models and current badminton stars.
"I am working hard to play BWF World Tour tournaments. They (Lakshya, Chirag, Satwiksairaj are all bringing laurels. I have to keep improving everyday, play international tournaments to boost my rankings so that I also get to play these tournaments," Varun told ANI.
Varun said that he started to play badminton at the age of seven.
"There was a sports club in Kolkata, where my father used to play. I used to watch him play and developed an interest in sports. I wanted to try out sports like Football, Basketball. Badminton was another sport I wanted to play. My coaches used to tell me that I could pursue it. That is when I shifted to a better club and started playing more competitive games. At the age of 11, I shifted to Pune for my badminton," he said.
Varun Kapur said that his parents were always his support system.
"They never made me think twice about anything. Whenever I wanted to play in tournaments, they used to allow me. My dad travels with me to the tournaments still. I have reached the heights of success I have attained because of them. My mother had a transfer of a job willingly when I wanted to shift to Pune," he added.
The shuttler said that Chinese player Lin Dan, who is a two-time Olympic champion and five-time World Champion is his role model.
"I still watch his matches, though he is retired," Varun Kapur added.
Varun, who is also the former world number one in junior rankings and first to do so, said that it felt really nice on accomplishing this position since "years of hard work had paid off."
Talking about his training regime, Varun said he trains rigorously from Monday to Friday with morning and afternoon on-court sessions and later a gym session or endurance-based exercises in the evening.
"Saturday is my half day, I go to the court or gym depending on how my body feels," he added.
On his future goals, Varun said that, "I want to reach the top 100 in world rankings this year, play more tournaments and train well."
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