Thailand Masters 300 badminton: Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian out to prove that he can succeed with a defensive style | Badminton News

For Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, defence is almost defiance. And the 21-year-old shuttler from Chennai is defending his game style with rebellious zeal. He has Japanese stalwart Kento Momota to thank, for giving him the confidence to play the sort of badminton that routinely earns him very loud, and very discouraging, feedback and the words “He can’t.”On Thursday at the Thailand Masters Super 300, against attacking Indonesian third seed Chico Wardoyo, ranked World No.32, the former World Juniors silver medall won 9-21, 21-10, 21-17 in 59 minutes. A day prior, he had an even more reassuring win against Malaysian Cheam June Wei, coming back from losing the first game to eventually win 15-21, 21-15, 21-19 in 72 minutes.
Sankar is World No.68, and despite his solid junior record, draws all-round scepticism for sticking to a defensive style, while the rest of the men’s singles brood relies on quicker, snappier offensive slam-bangs.
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He maintains it’s his natural style, critics say he’s obstinate. His team based out of a non-traditional centre in Tamil Nadu, with a start-up for scientific support, cops jibes for allowing him to stick to his defensive guns. The win over Chico, achieved from 13-16 down in the decider, with his defensive solidity pulling the Indian through, was important given the results of a poor 2024.
“The last few months were not good at all, and I lost a few close matches because I couldn’t finish,” Sankar says. His coach Aravind, who runs a small academy in Chennai, informs things were dire with not just niggles, but also the losses taking a psychological toll and throwing them into self-doubt, as Sankar went a little mad playing too many tournaments to collect ranking points. “But we had no choice. If he doesn’t play and get his ranking up, who will give us entries?” the coach explained the dilemma.
The win against Cheam in Round 1 was sweet revenge for the loss at the Syed Modi tournament, where the Malaysian moved before receiving serve, but wasn’t faulted. “You try asking once or twice to the umpire, but it doesn’t look good,” Sankar would recall. In Thailand, Cheam did it again, this time getting a receiver’s fault. The Chico win though, came with engaging rallies, playing on the 26-year-old’s impatience, pushing him to the four corners on length shuttles, and playing more drives than usual, staying alert on defence.
“Yes, I played defensive, but it’s also about precision. My offence has got sharper. I look up to Kento Momota who had great defence and control. If he could win with that style, why not me?” Sankar asks.Story continues below this ad
In Sankar’s U17 days, he got called an oddball to his face for playing a defensive style. “The criticism started in the U13s. They said he won’t survive U15s. Then they said, he’ll be hammered in the U17s. When he reached the final of the U19 World Juniors, they said, ‘Seniors is totally different’. The criticism will never stop, and when he loses, the whole team is called lacking in expertise,” Aravind says.
Stubborn youngster
In the U17s, the coach contemplated changing Sankar’s style dramatically, but ran into a headstrong ward. “I had serious self-doubt and insed he change. But he told me with that confidence, ‘Uncle, why do you worry? Look at Momota, playing day in, day out, and thriving with defence. Viktor Axelsen was also told he won’t succeed for being too tall. And Anthony Ginting for being too short. Till Sankar becomes a world winner, the criticism won’t stop.”
Funding an oddball career takes a toll, and playing too many tourneys saw Sankar drop unintended 4 kg due to stress.
“We take inspiration from the Japanese style. Their top names prove it’s possible to win,” he says.Story continues below this ad
Not all criticism is malafide, and the coach knows some comes out of genuine concern. But the defensive style is a wringer, and cackles of “can’t smash, can’t play” are common when he loses.
Sankar says the senior circuit is challenging. “In seniors, it’s about playing tough matches every day. The strength & conditioning coach has a big challenge to manage workload,” he explains.
Though working in a boutique academy environment, Sankar has a full-fledged fitness team travelling with him, and is big on data analysis and scientific recovery methods, onboarding Chennai start-up Kinetic Heads.
In the last one year since getting into seniors, Sankar’s rally pace has increased, but leg strength is work-in-progress. “There are improvements,” the coach adds. “He is playing at a much faster pace, though he’s not a good hitter still, but that will come as he grows stronger.” Doubles plays, 1vs3 offence half-court drills, and strengthening the physique are all underway, though a defeat can drive him crazy. “He will do wall practice for 3 hours if he loses.”Story continues below this ad
But a bigger problem is the slump. “Unlike say in cricket, if you play defensive in badminton, it takes very long to regain form. He has to be mentally strong to cope with self-doubts,” Aravind says.
Funnily, Sankar remains a very aggressive (even combative) personality, with a stubborn resolve and total confidence. “We want to stick to his natural style, compete with Top 10s, and consently beat top names. Not just upset big names, but also win the entire week. We know any random person can come up to us and criticise, but we know the process. We get results, then we talk,” Aravind says.