Didn't celebrate, just shook hands: Subhankar recalls win against Lin Dan
Dec 16, 2020
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], December 16 : Indian shuttler Subhankar Dey, who rose to prominence after defeating Lin Dan in the SaarLorLux Open Badminton Championship in 2018, has revealed that he used to sleep next to the poster of the two-time Olympic gold medalist. The Indian shuttler also revealed he used to copy Lin Dan and always dreamt of playing against him.
"When I was small, my sister made a big poster for me of Lin Dan and I used to sleep next to it. And I used to think that one day I will play against him," Subhankar said on Sports Tiger's show 'Building Bridge'.
"I never thought of defeating him that time since I was very small. It was always a dream for me. I wanted to see Lin Dan, play like him and copy him when I was in Kolkata," he added.
Subhankar also said he didn't celebrate his victory in SaarLorLux Open Badminton Championship in 2018 and just shook hands as a mark of respect for his idol.
The 27-year-old shuttler first rose to national prominence when he defeated B. Sai Praneeth in the quarterfinals of the senior badminton nationals held in Nagpur in 2017 and the win against Lin Dan in 2018 ensured he grabbed national headlines.
Going down memory lane, Subhankar also spoke about his early days in Kolkata and how his elder brother and sister inspired him to take up the sport. He moved to Mumbai with just Rs 500 and terms that as the turning point of his career.
"I feel my turning point was when I came to Mumbai. I started performing well after moving there on India level. Initially there weren't any sponsors but I became India No.6 and became part of Asian Championship U-19, that time I got a scholarship from Hindustan petroleum of Rs 12k. That was the first scholarship I got and it was a huge amount for me at that time," said Subhankar.
Life has come a full circle for this champion shuttler who was once rejected by Hyderabad Academy and considers himself extremely lucky to get the opportunity to play for a European club.
Subhankar, who was training in Bangalore under Tom John before his move to Europe was happy there but had to make the move because of the high fees and his desire to play in more international tournaments.
Almost 20 key tournaments are played in Europe every year and that was another factor that influenced his move.
He spoke about his European journey and mentioned, "I mailed almost 30 clubs all over Europe and I got a reply from Denmark. And then I said, fine. It was small money but I thought, this is the opportunity, maybe I will go there and at least I will learn a lot of things and see how it is going. That's how I went to Denmark."
On his future plans, Subhankar clearly said that he wants to go with the flow and break into the Top 20 next year.
