BWF Junior Worlds: Indian-origin UAE talent Riyan fuelled by father's unfulfilled badminton dream

There was a genuine buzz when India's Hmar Lalthazuala made his way into the court for his men's singles match on Wednesday, reports Anmol Gurung of The New Indian Express.

Lalthazuala, thanks to his exploits during the mixed team event just last week, had been hoping to keep up his win streak in the individual event of the ongoing BWF World Junior Championships at the National Centre of Excellence here. Around half-an-hour or so later, it was his opponent with Indian connection, Riyan Malhan, who had come under the spotlight.

After being behind for large parts of the game, Riyan had shown his problem-solving skills during the tense moments in the opening essay before going on to make it a one-sided contest in the second. The victory was sweeter for the teenager as Lalthazuala had proven to be a thorn in their previous meeting not so long ago. "I had played against him recently and I had lost, it was a close match then. To play him again was a good opportunity to get a win and show my talent," Riyan told The New Indian Express.

Aside from his talent to wield the racquet with flair, Riyan, 15, was once a registered India player, having featured in the junior/sub-junior level ties in the national circuit. He has also had training stints at the renowned Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy and the Gopichand Academy. Moreover, the teenager has also had training stints at the Lee Chong Wei Academy in Malaysia.

His parents are originally from New Delhi and it wouldn't be odd to say that he could have possibly gone on to represent the Indian tricolour. His father was also formerly a professionally trained player from the Delhi University.

Instead, the shuttler, who is considered by many to have a high ceiling, has been making rapid strides in the last few years since making the call to represent UAE, the country he was born and where his family has been residing since 2007. "I used to play for India in 2017/18. I was the U-13 national number 3. I used to represent Delhi and I mostly competed in U-13 and U-15 singles. Since then, I got an opportunity to play for UAE and I stopped playing for India. There were many more opportunities there," Riyan said.

UAE's gain is India's loss as Riyan, who predominantly trains at the National Centre in Dragon Mart (Dubai) under Danish coach Michael Noerbeak, has been making people sit up and take notice by ticking the right boxes at the BWF circuit. The force behind his rise are his parents, Vipul and Vasudha, both of whom were here at the venue to egg him on. Vipul, who had faced stiff resistance to pursue the sport from his own father, had gone on to focus on academics. It was Vipul who had initially handed Riyan the freedom to express himself on the court.

With steely resolve in his eyes, Riyan said his father's tale gives him that determination to go the extra mile. "Because my father didn't get the opportunity to play and fulfilling his dreams is an inspiration. That is pushing me to do better everyday, I want to fulfill his dreams," he declared.

His mother has also stepped aside from her role as an educator to be fully behind Rio - a moniker she uses with affection to address him. "My mother used to work in a school and because of my travel and coaching, she quit her teaching job and has been supporting me full-time in terms of helping me travel," Riyan said.

A massive admirer of current World No 2 Anders Antonsen, with whom he trains with whenever the Dane is in Dubai, Riyan shed more details about his brief stints at the Gopichand Academy and PPBA. "I was in Gopichand Academy under Gopi sir, there was a camp over there but my parents didn't want me to stay over there alone as I was just eight years old then. So they brought me back to Dubai," said Riyan, also a fan of Chinese legend Lin Dan. "In PPBA, I was also under a scholarship but since I was playing the UAE, they were not keen on selecting me. They wanted me to play for India. But they were still saying if you ever change and play for the Indian team, you can always come to our academy and we will offer you a scholarship. But other than that, I'm still in contact with my Indian friends."

Quite thorough in his speech, Riyan's mantra is maintaining a calm demeanour and narrowing his focus to his immediate goals. "After winning one important match, you shouldn't be too overconfident. Like today (Wednesday), 'you won the match, be happy for five minutes or so and think about the next match'. That keeps me in check because I look forward to the next match."

However, his next match (Round of 16) turned out to be an unsolvable puzzle as he locked horns with Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah of Indonesia on Thursday. Ubaidillah, the World Junior No 1, exhibited his supremacy to end Riyan's campaign.

This latest setback could just be a minor bump as Riyan's forward-thinking mindset and his drive to realise his father's unfulfilled passion could take him a long way in the years to come.