Tall, quiet, sturdy and cheerful. Just like the coconut trees that made the coastal district of Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema, one of the most pleasant places in Andhra. R Kasi Viswanatham, father of India’s brightest doubles star, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, was the coolest ‘badminton dad’ in India, a towering figure who gave the country one of its finest athletes, while he remained gently and graciously in the background. His passing on Thursday, after a cardiac arrest, en route Delhi to watch his son get feted with the Khel Ratna, at age 65, cast a pall of gloom on the Indian badminton fraternity. The gentle giant was no more.
Kasi Viswanatham will forever stay imprinted in memory for one of the most endearing things uttered, that shaped the sport in India. Like his towering father, a teenaged Satwik had a massive leap — just like fellow giants from this coastal Andhra district with its volleyball-loving spikers, a talent base that might be the best-kept secret of Indian sport. With that lethal jump smash (he eventually set a Guinness record for the fastest smash), Satwik could’ve easily chosen singles, and found considerable glory.
But when he went to the Hyderabad academy in 2013, the father would simply tell the coach, “….kaisa bhi utilise karo, bas India ka baniaan pehenna hai.” Deploy him as you wish in either event – singles or doubles – we just would like to see him wear the India jersey.
Asian Games Gold Medallist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty won against Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia in the semifinals at Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024 at IG Stadium, New Delhi on Saturday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
No individualistic ambition, no clamour for monopolised attention, no impatience of deadlines for success, not even a reassurance that his career will be specially looked after. Just a very warm, non-cloying wish that his son might one day wear India colours. And enough badminton wisdom, to leave the big decisions to the coach, though the father had been his first shuttle teacher.
Pullela Gopichand had been pleasantly surprised that this respected coach from Amalapuram, who knew the sport far more than most parents, wasn’t dictating a wish-list of timelines and making that familiar nudge — to make him a singles champion, back then the popular and perhaps only dream of parents.
It was a remarkable thing for any parent to say in 2013 — just one year after Saina Nehwal’s first Olympic medal for Indians. But Kasi Viswanatham was different from other parents. He nursed a deep love for the sport, laced with humility about his own limitations as an elite coach.
A high jumper himself, Viswanatham trained to be a Physical Education teacher at Rajahmundry, and later went on to become Principal. He actually stumbled into badminton rather late in life at 21. But his dedication was unparalleled.
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Once smitten, he went all the way passing on his love to his two sons. The younger one showed immense promise.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty play against Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto during their men’s doubles badminton group stage match at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Viswanatham himself would tie a sturdy thread between two coconut trees and learn to practice outdoors. Konaseema is often likened to Kerala, with its pretty coastal landscape, and gentle ways. Plus love for the local cuisine, and a general calm disposition of its residents, who don’t get too flustered or rushed by massive materialistic dreams or social status symbols. The PE teacher would start under coach Puniah Choudhary, one of the first from India to graduate from NIS, and take a liking for badminton in 1980.
Amalapuram had no indoor courts, but his interest in the sport knew no bounds. “He would be playing till 2 a.m, 3 a.m repeating drills sincerely because school work consumed his days. Satwik wasn’t the only one to emerge from those outdoor cement courts, a fair few others did too after he took to coaching,” Puniah Choudhary recalls.
Early financial help came from his wife’s sister’s husband, a district judge. And a local doctor, Metla Suryanarayana, as he built an aura of positivity around pursuing the sport. Shot tricks were enjoyed, smashes were unleashed unfettered, good healthy home food was set on the table with both parents chipping in and teaching both sons to cook, and they were taught to fall in love with the sport rather than attaching any vocational ambitions to it. It has made Satwik a composed attacking player, who rarely gets frazzled.
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Cordial and calm
Cordial and calm always, the family was a tight unit, and Satwik very close to his father and older brother. Viswanatham would go onto pick umpire certifications, after winning a few local tournaments and coach anyone who showed interest.
India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty compete in the men’s doubles group stage badminton match against France’s Corvee Lucas and Labar Ronan, at the Summer Olympics 2024, in Paris, Saturday, July 27, 2024. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)
Satwik was given a choice though – he played basketball, volleyball, did athletics, besides pace bowling in cricket. The PE teacher found time to love every sport and ensured his sons would too. But it was in Hyderabad during the 2009 World Championships that Kasi Viswanatham truly passed on important lessons to his son. After finishing his officiating duties, he went and sat with a bunch of Chinese fans, and when Fu Haifeng won the title and threw his racquet into the stands, Viswanatham would leap the highest to catch the Li Ning Turbo Charge N9 wonder wand to hand it over to his son. “My father believed you don’t need lots of money to play badminton.
But you need a racquet.” It would make Satwik, who would train on the cement court till 11.30 p.m. himself, respectful towards his equipment, for life.
The father had been ecstatic every time Satwik won a title with Chirag Shetty and reached World No 1. He would patiently drop in to Hyderabad, every time an injury felled his son, and sent him to pieces while he rehabbed. When success came knocking, the father, also the first coach, would quietly step back. But there was no day sweeter than when Satwik-Chirag helped India win the Thomas Cup, the World Cup of badminton. The Indian jersey gleamed that day, and the coastal postcard town of Konaseema had seemed extra pretty and glorious. Kasi Viswanatham”s love for the sport will never be gone – it will be in every gentle sway of the tall, upright, sturdy trees in whose shade he learnt to love the sport, and taught his son to play too.
