Dr. Santosh HR: Changing positions

The motto of Dr. Santosh HR is “grab life with both hands if it offers you a second chance.” He did just that. Santosh works as a doctor by day and plays badminton professionally. His love of the racquet was so great that he recently took home the gold in the Chandigarh badminton competition, which was organized by the All India Civil Services. “I won the gold medal in the men’s doubles and the silver in the mixed doubles category for those over 45 in this tournament where I represented Karnataka,” claims Santosh.

Since he was eleven years old, the 47-year-old orthopedic physician at Victoria Hospital has played badminton. “I’ve been playing for around thirty-five years. I picked up a racquet because I saw my father play badminton.

He claims, “I had won two tournaments at the all-India level and had represented the state around six times. I also got my medical seat via a sports quota.

Despite acknowledging that juggling athletics and MBBS was not an easy task for him. “After entering the medical field, I was unable to pursue my love of athletics. After almost ten years, I gave up badminton to concentrate on my education. Though academics were very competitive and required all of my focus, I don’t regret it. Under the tutelage of badminton superstar Prakash Padukone, Santosh continues to play at the college and university levels.

Perhaps his academics were the initial obstacle, but they altered over time, making it impossible for him to continue playing badminton. Then, as my life became busier, I kept putting my career first. I then lost out on a lot of events because of the age cutoff. By chance, new age groups such as those over 35 and 40 emerged, enabling him to return to badminton, which he did after turning 35.

When he returned to sports full-time, it was aided by his personal connection to the game. “I had already performed consistently for ten or fifteen years. Since I was a professional badminton player previously, getting back on track wasn’t too tough, he claims.

Santosh attributes his ability to maintain mental and physical equilibrium to badminton, despite his demanding career as a doctor who saves lives. It is a major stress reliever and something that makes me happy. I have reached the age when I also need to look after my physical well-being. It helps me keep in shape,” Santosh continues. “Work is demanding, of course, but I just play badminton for an hour every morning. Thus, it has a good balance.