Indian Badminton League: Top players will not share tricks, says Parupalli Kashyap
Kashyap said that unlike the Indian Premier League in cricket, badminton is and individual sport where players guard their training routines.
India's top male badminton player Parupalli Kashyap feels big names associated with the sport would not be forthcoming in sharing tricks with their team-mates from different countries in the upcoming Indian Badminton League.
"Cricket is a team game and it is obvious for the team to win as a unit, and you find many top players sharing their tricks with young ones. Badminton is an individual sport and players wouldn't like to share tricks with other players lest they end up losing to them in other tournaments," Kashyap told PTI here.
Kashyap, one of the six icon players in the IBL, said the Chinese have been secretive about their training, which has helped them dominate the sport for a long time.
"Obviously, ten years down the line if we are as strong as China, we wouldn't want any Malaysian and any other player to come and train with us and learn our ways lest we end up losing to him in other tournaments," he added.
The IBL, however, Kashyap said, will certainly help young Indian shuttlers observe and learn the nuances of the sport playing alongside or against top international players.
IBL is a good thing to happen for the established and young players, as it would give them financial security, Kashyap said.
"In my teens when I started playing the sport, my parents considered it a risk to make it a career. But now, with this kind of an event, which involves money, aspirants can make badminton their career. This is good for the sport and it will only grow in years to come," he said.
Kahsyap said the IBL would help him improve his rankings as the event is being conducted at a time when he is ranked 15th in the world.
"Playing a couple of matches against some top players will give me good exposure and boost my confidence," he added.
On leading Banga Beats in the IBL, Kashyap said there isn't too much of burden on his shoulders to perform as he has the support of two top players in Carsten Mogensen of Denmark and Hu Yun of Hong Kong.
"With these two around, my responsibility has lessened," he added. Kashyap added that the tournament schedule wasn't hectic and would not affect players physically and mentally because there are rest days between matches.
"It is only at the later stages of the IBL that you play almost everyday," he said.