Chetan Anand Profile

Chetan Anand is an Indian Badminton Player, and is considered to be one of the finest Badminton Players the nation has ever produced. He has been one of the highest ranking Indian Players in the world, and has upset a number of top seeded players in various tournaments.

Early Life & Introduction to Badminton
He was born on the 8th of July, 1980 at Vijaywada, Andhra Pradesh to Mr. Harshavardhan and Mrs. Suguna. Chetan�s father was himself an active Badminton player and very keenly interested in the game. He received his education at the Veeramachaneni Paddayaa Siddhartha Public School, Vijaywada. The school had been adopted by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), and paid adequate attention towards sports activities. Encouraged by the school�s environment and his father�s support, Chetan got interested in the game of Badminton and began playing the sport at quite an early age. He further completed his Engineering Degree course in Mechanical Manufacturing from the Potluri V Prasad Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Vijaywada.

The Initial Days
In the year 1992, Chetan began his Badminton career at the age of 12 years, at the Mini National Badminton Championship held at Mumbai. During his initial Badminton career, Chetan teamed up with J.B.S. Vidyadhar and A. Prithvi to play in Doubles category, and was quite successful in his endeavors. In Singles category though, he couldn�t fare much well until a later phase.

The Turning Point
Prakash Padukone, the legendry Badminton player from India was a source of inspiration to Chetan, and always used to encourage him. Prakash sent him to World Academy camp held at Kuala Lumpur so that he could hone his skills better. The camp proved to be of great use to Chetan, who improved his performance a lot, and managed to clinch his first Singles Title at a Major Ranking tournament held at Chennai. He also reached the Semi Final round at the Senior National Badminton Championship, and was included in the Top 8 Badminton Players of the nation.

National Badminton
He grabbed the Junior National Badminton Championship in the year 1999, and 4 years later, won his first Senior National Badminton Championship in 2003 beating Arvind Bhatt in the Final Match. In the year 2002, he won the Gold Medal at the National Games, and also emerged victorious at the Syed Modi Memorial tournament. He also won the Canara Bank Ranking tournament in the year 2003. In the year 2004, he lost in the Final Match of Syed Modi Memorial tournament.

International Badminton
Chetan Anand made his debut in the arena of International Badminton in the year 2002 when he was a member of the Indian Badminton team participating at the Thomas Cup tournament. He reached the Quarter Final round of the India Asia Satellite tournament the same year, and the Quarter Final round of the Australia Ballarat International tournament 2003. In the year 2004, he again reached the Quarter Final round of the Indian Asian Satellite tournament.

Real Success
Chetan tasted his first big success at International level in the year 2004, when he won the LE VOLANT D�OR, known as TOULOUSE Open tournament. After this, he won the Sri Lanka Satellite tournament in 2005, and finished Runner Up at Iceland Express International tournament. In the same year, he also won the Welsh International tournament and the Irish International tournament. He lost in the Final round of the Yonex Polish Open International tournament 2006, and won the Cyprus Badminton International tournament in 2007. Again, he finished a Runner Up at the India International Challenge tournament 2007, and clinched the Gold at Kenya International tournament in the year 2008. The same year Chetan won the XXI Spanish International tournament, and the Nepal International Series tournament.

The Golden Moments
He really enjoyed the success to its fullest in the year 2008, and grabbed two more tournaments viz. the Yonex Czech International tournament and the Bitburger Open Grand Prix tournament, while losing in the Final round of the Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix in the same year.

Awards & Honors
To honor his extra-ordinary talent and prowess as a Badminton Player, and his consistent services to the nation through his skills in the sport, the Government of India bestowed Chetan Anand with the prestigious Arjuna Award in the year 2006.