MR Arjun’s opening-round win at the BWF World Championships in New Delhi meant much more to him than simply advancing to the next stage.With his parents and wife in the stands, the Indian men’s doubles player experienced a moment he had waited around 13 years for — seeing his parents watch him compete live.
A special homecoming
Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan defeated Ireland’s Scott Guildea and Paul Reynolds 21-16, 6-4 before their opponents retired injured. For Arjun, however, the biggest moment was having his parents present.“My parents and my wife are here. My parents are watching me live probably after 13 years,” Arjun said.His father had once travelled across the country with him for junior tournaments, but that changed as Arjun grew older and began travelling alone. Even so, his father continued following his career from afar.“My dad used to take me around for all my junior matches at probably 8, but after that, you know, I had the opinion that I would love playing alone or travelling alone, because there are obviously opinions from your parents and from coaches which might not go in the right direction when it comes to a player, but my dad, I know he’s been following, he’s been watching everything live, but never had a, you know, obviously I call him after my match, he’ll be like, yeah I’ve seen the match, it’s always seen from a, I mean, yeah now he’s there,” Arjun said.The home crowd also gave the pair an unexpected boost. Indian supporters filled the arena and cheered loudly when their names were announced.“It was good, actually. In the first round of the World Championship, we didn’t expect so many people to come out and support us, but as soon as we entered the main arena, we heard a lot of cheering when our names were announced, which gave us an extra boost and extra energy. It definitely helped,” Arjun said.
Early advantage pays off
Arjun said getting the first few points was crucial because early pressure could have changed the match.“First game, I mean, coming into the first round of the World Championships, the conditions can be a little dicey, with little drifts here and there. I would say it’s obviously very important to earn those first four points. If it had gone the other way, pressure would have built up, and that would have cost us, but I feel we took advantage of those first few points, which helped us,” Arjun said.Hariharan also credited the supporters for lifting the team.“The crowd also gave us more confidence. Whenever we were down, the crowd was cheering us on, and they were more confident,” Hariharan said.Arjun felt the playing conditions were similar to other tournaments, but said playing at home provided extra energy. Hariharan added that there was little side drift on court, with one end playing slightly faster than the other.The win gave India a positive start to the World Championships, being held in New Delhi from August 17 to 23 — the tournament’s first return to India since 2009.
