Thirty-seven is an age when most professional badminton players around the world have already called it quits, but not Hari Kiran Chereddi. Playing in his first ever senior national championship in Nagpur, the Hyderabad resident is just about getting started.
With a receding hairline, Chereddi sticks out like a sore thumb among players who are mostly at least a decade, if not two, junior to him. But the father of two proved on Saturday that he cannot be underestimated on the basis of his age, as he and his partner Ajay Kumar K, 26, gave a good fight to Shouvik Ghosh, 21, and Ratikanta Saha, 29, in the first round of the men’s doubles. Chereddi and Ajay Kumar lost 21-18, 15-21, 16-21.
An entrepreneur by day, Chereddi is on the board of directors of Hyderabad Angels, a network of angel investors, and is also the chairman of Media NXT India, a start-up dabbling in mobile journalism among other things. Prior to this, Hari Kiran used to run a pharmaceutical company for four years. Prior to that, he set up Sujana Energy, a company that dealt with renewable energy, before selling it to a larger firm. Prior to that, he was the head of business management operations for Bank of America in India.
Chasing the American dream
After playing district- and state-level badminton in his teens, Chereddi stopped when he was around 18 years old. “I went to engineering college, did what every Telugu boy would do – went to the United States chasing the dollar dream, did my MBA in supply-chain management and finance from the University of California,” he said.
Despite living the American dream, Hari Kiran could never really forget about badminton. When he was 30, in 2010, he decided to start playing again, and not just as a hobby on weekends, but professionally. “This was back in the time when badminton did not pay even 5% of what it is right now,” he said. “We were still playing on wooden courts, we would have only one racket. It’s a tough choice that you have to take.”
It took Chereddi four years to get anywhere close to the national level. “I couldn’t play state-level because I would not have qualified with my age,” he said. “You have to start with the bottom-most rung in terms of qualifying in the All-India ranking tournaments. You play five-to-six qualifying rounds and then go to the main draw. You play the biggies and you’re there.”
Chereddi played his first ever All-India senior ranking tournament in 2014. It took him and his partner three years to attain a rank that made them eligible for the Nationals, along with international tournaments. “I play more internationally and less domestically now, but you are required to keep your India rank in the top 100 to be able to show up at some of these events.
Still going strong
Chereddi and Ajay Kumar are currently ranked 84th in India and 307th in the world. This year, they have played at the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold, Mauritius International, Malaysia International series, Vietnam Open, and Singapore International Series. Except for the Mauritius tournament, where they reached the quarter-finals, Chereddi and Ajay Kumar did not make it past the first qualifying round in all others.
However, Chereddi isn’t giving up anytime soon, considering how hard he had to work to reach this level. “Coming back to the circuit in the last three-four years has personally been a major achievement for me. I do this as a passion but I take it very seriously also,” he said, before adding that he takes inspiration from fellow doubles player KT Rupesh Kumar, 38, who despite winning nine national titles is still playing this year.
A typical day in Chereddi’s life starts at 6 am, when he gets his two children ready for school. He then trains from 7 am to 9 am for six days a week, before starting work at around 10 am. He gets back home from work around 7 pm, spends an hour with his wife and kids, then either heads to the gym or goes running.
“It does get difficult at times,” he said. “Running around, travelling and all that does take its toll. Luckily, my better half has been supportive. Being in the start-up ecosystem helps. If I was still working for a bank I would not have been able to do this. One thing that takes a hit is social life. My friends keep cribbing that I don’t come out with them,” he added, laughing.
Asked what keeps him going, Hari Kiran said it’s the adrenaline rush that the game gives him. “Once you get into it, you can’t go to bed without doing it,” he said. “I’ll continue playing till I still feel up to it – till I don’t get beaten up by kids very badly.”
