“Living the Kuala Lumpur life,” read Sathish Kumar Karunakaran’s Instagram caption as he posed for a photograph with the Petronas Towers in the background. This was in May 2024, shortly after he had made the move to Malaysia to find a launchpad for his badminton career by training under coach Jivananthan Nair. Just over a year later, May 21, 2025, was a day of many firsts for Sathish. His family was in attendance to watch him in action at the Axiata Arena. He was facing a top-10 player for the first time on the BWF World Tour. And in the round of 32 against third seed Chou Tien Chen, Sathish registered the first big breakthrough win of his career, which has seen him shift cities and then countries in search of that elusive push. Fittingly, at his home away from home.
“I’m feeling pretty good because I wanted a breakthrough win for a long time. And finally, it happened,” the 24-year-old told The Indian Express after his impressive 21-13, 21-14 win against world No. 7 Chou. “This is the first tournament that my entire family is there to watch. Parents, brother, sister-in-law. They are very happy with the hard work we’ve put in, even as a family, and they have trusted me completely. It was quite emotional.”
Sathish Kumar Karunakaran! What a huge win for the Indian world No 51 as he beats world No 7 and the veteran of the World Tour Chou Tien Chen in straight games. The biggest singles win of Sathish’s career most probably.
??? BWF TV YouTube pic.twitter.com/maAbntJq0x
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) May 21, 2025
That it has taken Sathish this long to achieve this milestone win isn’t lost on him. “The most important thing is that I didn’t give up. I was patiently competing at events, going through tournaments, and losing in the first round. I would return, train, and then head back to the tournaments. Sure, it was frustrating not getting the breakthrough, but I persisted, I kept hanging in there. My coaches and team behind me were also patient, and that support made a big difference.”
Sathish’s tryst with sport began with swimming, he started playing badminton when he was around 13, as his elder brother Arun Kumar was actively training in the sport. The journey began in Chennai, where Sathish was born and raised, then came a move to Coimbatore when his brother shifted base. That was followed by a stint in Hyderabad that didn’t pan out. Next stop was Bengaluru, but at this point, Sathish was feeling something was missing.
“Previously, I was in KL with the same coach for a brief stint, and I was around 16 during that time. Then he stopped professional coaching for a while and I moved back. When I faced challenges with my career, I contacted Coach Jiva. ‘I really want to go to LA 2028, can you help me?’ He took his time and agreed,” Sathish said, adding that the expenses of coaching fees, strength & conditioning and tournament entries are handled by GoSports Foundation.
On Wednesday, it helped Sathish that he had a super quick start. After a few tight exchanges for 3-3, the Indian went on a wonderful run of 7 straight points, helped partly by Chou’s radar misfiring. When he got the height to work with, Sathish was putting away the inside-out smashes clinically. But the key to his success on the day was not the flashy points, but the steadier rallies where he controlled the net and read Chou’s changes of angles. Despite a late comeback from the 35-year-old in the first game, Sathish had built up a big enough lead to take it home 21-13, with a couple of sharp backhand smashes from midcourt.
Chou has been around on the circuit long enough for anyone to know that winning one game against him is never a guarantee of winning the match. But the Indian raced off the blocks once more like a 200m sprinter turning around the first bend. This time, he reeled off 10 points in a row to lead 10-1. From there on it was a matter of just holding his ground and not making errors. Chou did threaten another fightback, closing the gap to 9-13, a momentum that was once again arrested by a Sathish inside-out smash winner.
“I was pretty much controlling the game today. I was quick at the net and didn’t give him a chance to attack. I was consistent, I just kept the rallies going, and there were no unforced errors on my side. That actually made a big difference,” Sathish said.
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Sathish is currently just outside the top 50 in singles and continues to play mixed doubles with Aadya Variyath, who has also recently made the move to Malaysia. He believes – and coach Jiva is on the same page – that the skills required to do well in mixed doubles is translating into his singles game as well. It’s helping with the pace of matches, controlling the shuttle from backcourt and executing good parallel plays. The Malaysian stint has also helped turn his perspective around on the sport.
“The way I look at badminton has changed significantly. I used to constantly put myself down, but my coaches and team regularly encourage me, reminding me that I’m almost there. That’s reflected in my performance today,” Sathish said. “This past year has been about persistence. I’ve been focused on keeping my confidence high, regardless of wins or losses. My confidence level has improved a lot. My shot choices have become better and more consistent; previously, I made many errors. Technically, I’ve developed a lot in one year.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
