KUWAIT: Taking part in his first major competitive international tournament, the chairman of the Indian Badminton Association-Kuwait ( IBAK ), Dr Manimara Chozhan did, both his home country India and adopted second home Kuwait proud by winning medals at the European Masters Games 2023, held in Tampere, Finland between 26th June to 2nd July. After having taken part in many international friendlies across the world which included Uganda, USA, Ukraine, Vienna, Switzerland, Russia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Maldives, Dr Mani, as he is popularly known, decided to test his skills by playing in the National Seniors league in India.

He took part in the tournament conducted in Goa during March 2023 and took part in the MD 45 (men’s doubles) and MS50 (men’s singles) categories. He entered the main draw in both the events after initial rounds of qualifying, which, by itself, was a creditable effort for a first-time entrant. He missed qualifying for the semifinals of the MD 45 category in a close 3 game thriller and his challenge in the MS 50 category ended in the round of 32 after having beaten many established players in the preliminary rounds.

Being motivated and passionate about the game that he holds close to his heart, Dr Mani entered the first major international competitive tournament, the European Masters Games. He took part in both, the team, and Individual events. In the team event, he represented the Team Crossfits and secured a bronze medal. In the individual events, he took part in the MS 50, MD 45, and XD 50 (mixed doubles) categories. Partnering, Tiean How of Malaysia, Dr Mani decimated the opposition and won the gold medal in the MD 45 category.

In the mixed doubles category, which was a very hotly contested category, Dr. Mani won the gold medal, partnering Hon Tranh of the USA after a 3-game thriller in the finals. After exhausting himself with the two above categories, he could not find the energy to compete in the singles event and was eliminated in the preliminaries after putting up a decent fight against tough opponents from Germany and Norway.

An orthopedic Surgeon by profession, Dr Manimara Chozhan has been so passionately involved in the game of badminton and has spread his passion to the badminton loving community in Kuwait by founding the first premiere badminton association, the Indian Badminton Association -Kuwait (IBAK) which caters to all nationalities and has also been the pioneer in paving way for similar clubs to come up and for more people to take up the sport of Badminton.