India’s legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has revealed that badminton, not cricket, is his favourite sport. In a recent video shared by Sony Sports, Gavaskar opened up about his love for the game, admitting he would choose to watch badminton over cricket despite his legendary status in the sport.
“I would play badminton. That’s my favourite sport. You ask me to watch cricket and badminton, I’ll go for badminton any time. It’s just a fabulous sport and I think India is doing so well in recent times,” Gavaskar said.
The former India captain even drew a parallel between India’s historic 2022 Thomas Cup win in badminton and the iconic 1983 Cricket World Cup victory that he was part of.
“Winning the Thomas Cup a couple of years ago is almost like India winning the World Cup in 83. So there’s a lot of progress and we’ve had great champions. I love watching the sport,” he added.
The Thomas Cup triumph in 2022 was a landmark moment for Indian badminton. India defeated 14-time champions Indonesia in the final to lift their maiden title. The singles line-up featured Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, and Priyanshu Rajawat, while the doubles pairings included Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun & Dhruv Kapila, and Krishna Prasad Garaga & Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala.
Gavaskar also shared his admiration for the fast-paced nature of doubles matches in badminton. He spoke about the incredible reflexes and intensity shown by players during rallies.
“In recent times, some of the rallies, they go on for a couple of minutes. I saw one which was like 100 shots. It was a doubles match and doubles are more likely to have these rallies. It’s amazing, their reflexes and everything,” he said.
Toward the end of the video, Gavaskar also revealed a new sporting interest – pickleball – sharing that he is now part of the sport’s growing popularity in India.
“I’ve got a little stake in a pickleball team,” he concluded.
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