Quite happy with my tenure: Sachdeva

NAGPUR: Life is not the same anymore for Sanjiv Sachdeva. The man who dedicated over three decades to badminton - and the one who moulded the likes of Saina Nehwal and P Kashyap - is now coming to terms with life beyond courts. The marathon man of Indian badminton has decided that it is time to spend some quality time with his family.
A couple of weeks ago, the 62-year-old resigned as chief Indian junior badminton coach after holding the post for 12 years.The timing of his resignation may not have been perfect, but he is in no mood to reconsider.
The national camp for the Dutch and Hungary bound Indian junior squad was going on in full steam at Lucknow before it was hit by the sudden quitting of Sachdeva midway. Although there are stories circulating in badminton circles that he was not happy with the way he was sidelined in certain decisions like appointment of coaches for camps and international tours, he stressed that he left the scene after taking the Badminton Association of India into confidence.
"I would like to devote more time with my family at this stage of my life. My wife is always alone at home because I am either travelling or supervising the national camp. How long will it continue? It has to stop somewhere, so I put in my papers," Sachdeva told TOI on Sunday.
The veteran of many a battle admitted that he still get lot of calls from BAI officials to continue as national coach but he said he is not going to come back now.
Sachdeva, who has served Sports Authority of India (SAI) as a senior badminton coach for 34 years, is now enjoying his time with his family at Chandigarh. "I am a free bird now. I can walk freely anywhere without bothering about anything. There are no worries about tournaments and coaching. This is a new phase of my life and I am starting to enjoy it," said Sachdeva, a recipient of World Badminton Federation Meritorious Award in 1996.
Looking back to his career, Sachdeva is happy with the contribution he has made to the Indian badminton. "I am quite content with my efforts during my tenure as the national junior coach and years in SAI. I feel proud to see players like Saina Nehwal, P Kashyap, Verma brothers (Sourabh and Samir) and others doing exceedingly well at the highest level. They all were under me when they were playing at the junior level," said Sachdeva, who was nominated for Dronacharya Award by BAI in 2009.
Having completed his long and fruitful innings, how does he feel about the present and future of badminton in the country? "I must say that the present is very good and future will be even better. There are plenty of quality players at the moment. Even the juniors are showing lot of promise. The popularity of the game has increased immensely. I am sure, Indians will be a force to reckon with in the world badminton in the years to come," opined Sachdeva.