‘Arundhati was first player from city to sign contract with a foreign club’
| Date :29-Jul-2020 |
By Mahesh S Kale :
SHE started her sporting career with athletics but destiny had already made some special arrangements for her in the field of badminton. The former India Number 1 in women’s singles, Arundhati Pantawane was initially introduced to athletics by her parents but later she shifted her focus to badminton and made a name for herself and the city. It was athletics’ loss and badminton’s gain. The right-handed shuttler, who bagged the yellow metal for India in Bahrain International Challenge, actually got into badminton after watching her father play at the Medical College court. “My late wife (Chitra Pantawane) and I both were physical education teachers. Chitra was into hurdles and used to teach at the Dhanwate National College while I was at VMV College,Wardhaman Nagar.
So, we enrolled Arundhati into athletics while Abhilasha (younger sister) played cricket. Arundhati very soon started winning medals in athletics. She won medals in 100m, 200m hurdles. But things entirely changed when Arundhati saw me playing badminton at the Medical College court and from that very moment she was sucked into badminton. Seeing her interest for the game I then enrolled her at YMCA where she started her badminton journey under Manisha Mahajan’s guidance,” said father Avinash Pantawane while interacting with ‘The Hitavada’. Avinash stated,“Arundhati was so much into badminton that in a span of few months only she had forgotten everything about athletics.
Very soon she even bagged her first Under-10 badminton district tournament title and at an age of 13 or so she even won her first U-14 national championship.” Arundhati represented India at the women’s team event of the 2010 Asian Games in China and was the first player from Nagpur to have signed a contract with a foreign club. “Taby Badminton Club in Stockholm, Sweden signed Arundhati for a two-year contract starting from 2010. I think she was the only shuttler from Nagpur and probably the only athlete from Maharashtra at that time to have signed a contract with a foreign club. A r u n d h a t i gained a lot of e x p e r i e n c e from it as she participated in all the major t o u r n a m e n t s across Europe. She bagged bronze in Polish International, silver in Czech Republic International Challenge and another silver in Estonia while playing for the club,” Avinash said.
The ace shuttler, who won gold in senior nationals team event in 2017, actually improved her game and technique after she started training under badminton legend and former Indian badminton player Pullela Gopichand.“Arundhati was playing her junior nationals at Calicut Indoor Stadium when Pullela Gopichand spotted her talent. G o p i c h a n d came to me and said that he would like to train Arundhati. At that moment I thought to myself that this is possibly the best thing that can happen t o Arundhati. S o Arundhati went to Hyderabad and started training under his guidance at the Gachibowli Stadium. She even got the opportunity to play and share courts with 2019 World Champion PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap, Gurusai Dutt and several other great players.
I think she improved her technique and badminton acumen to a great level. Also I think the experience of playing with the best in the business improved her overall game significantly.” The star badminton player, who made her mark on both national and international fronts, was also equally good in academics. “Arundhati had just returned from a junior national meet on February 1 and on February 25 she had her first paper of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC).
I think she studied for hardly 20 days and despite that she got 78 per cent in 12th standard. Arundhati is a quick learner and an intelligent person,” said the proud father. Arundhati, who had sponsorships from Graceland Company and Vishwaraj Infrastructure, also faced situations in past where her father was not in a position to afford racquets and shuttles.“Branded racquets, shuttles, shoes and T-shirts are quite expensive. Although as parents we were aware of these expenses but still at times they would take a heavy toll on the pocket. Many people used to ask me why do I invest so much in sports. But as a sportsman and as a parent it was my job and responsibility to support my daughters. I have seen many parents like me who invest in sports but they don’t receive any returns on it.
It’s like if you are enrolling your child to an international school you would obviously be required to pay for school books, bags and other necessary items,” said Avinash who has played kho-kho and kabaddi at university level. Avinash, who has seen several amazing moments in Arundhati’s career still remembers her selection into the Indian junior team. “I still remember Arundhati’s selection into the junior Indian team. I think it was 2008 when she got selected into the Indian team that went to New Zealand. Arundhati signing the Taby Club contract wasalso a special moment for all of us,” Avinash concluded.