Nikhil Kanetkar (born 13 May 1979) is an Indian former badminton player from
Pune
Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
.
Born in a
Maharashtrian family, Kanetkar played
badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Goudi Olympic Hall at the Goudi Olympic Complex from 14 August through 21 August. Both men and women competed in their own singles and doubles events and together they competed in a mixed do ...
in men's singles, defeating
Sergio Llopis of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in the first round. In the round of 16, Kanetkar was defeated by
of
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
.
In addition to Olympics, Kanetkar has represented India in the
Thomas Cup
The Thomas Cup, sometimes referred as World Men's Team Championships, is an international badminton competition among teams representing member nations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF), the sport's global governing body. The championships h ...
,
All England Open,
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
, World Championships,
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
,
SAF Games,
Swiss Open,
French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, Toulouse Open and numerous other championships.
In 2011, he retired from competitive sports and set up Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy (NKBA, www.nkba.in) in Pune, India. The academy is based at
Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi, Pune, India. NKBA was established with a vision of "Grooming Talent to Make Champions". Nikhil Kanetkar is currently the Director and Head Coach of NKBA.
Kanetkar is also a columnist and commentator. He wrote for the
Marathi newspaper
Sakal
''Sakal'' ("Morning") is a Marathi daily newspaper published by Sakal Media Group, headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is among the most widely circulated Marathi newspapers.
Pratap Pawar joined the board of Sakal in 1985 and is ...
from
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
during the Olympics and subsequently was invited by
StarSports for covering the Badminton events of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Kanetkar played after 7 years post retirement and won the Men's Singles Title in the 35+ age category in the 41st Indian Masters (Veterans) National Badminton Championships 2016–17 organised by Kerala Badminton Association at Regional Sports Centre, Kadavanthra, Kochi, Kerala. In September 2017, he won the bronze medal in the same age group at the BWF World Senior Badminton Championship held in
Kochi
Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...
, India.
Achievements
BWF World Senior Championships
South Asian Games
''Men's singles''
IBF World Grand Prix
The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.
''Men's singles''
IBF International
''Men's singles''
Sources
Kanetkar, Saina lead D-day challengeI choose not to be frustrated: Kanetkartask for shuttlers – Aparna Popat, Abhinn Shyam Gupta and Nikhil Kanetkar carry Indian hopes
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References
External links
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Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy
1979 births
Living people
Indian male badminton players
Olympic badminton players for India
Badminton players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India
Commonwealth Games silver medallists in badminton
Badminton players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Badminton players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Asian Games competitors for India
Badminton players at the 2006 Asian Games
South Asian Games gold medalists for India
South Asian Games silver medalists for India
South Asian Games medalists in badminton
Medalists at the 2006 South Asian Games
Racket sportspeople from Pune
Marathi sportspeople
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