Nikhil Kanetkar

Nikhil Kanetkar (born 13 May 1979) is an Indian former badminton player from Pune.^[1]

Nikhil Kanetkar
Nikhil Kanetkar at 2017 BWF World Senior Championships
Personal information
Country	India
Born	(1979-05-13) 13 May 1979 (age 46) Pune, Maharashtra, India
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Handedness	Left
Men's singles
Highest ranking	33
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  India World Senior Championships 2017 Kochi Men's singles +35 Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's team South Asian Games 2006 Colombo Men's team 2006 Colombo Men's singles
BWF profile

Born in a Maharashtrian family, Kanetkar played badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's singles, defeating Sergio Llopis of Spain in the first round. In the round of 16, Kanetkar was defeated by Peter Gade of Denmark.^[1] In addition to Olympics, Kanetkar has represented India in the Thomas Cup, All England Open, Asian Games, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, SAF Games, Swiss Open, French Open, 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 from Athens 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, India.

Achievements

BWF World Senior Championships

Year	Venue	Event	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kochi, India	Men's singles +35	Naruenart Chuaymak	3–8 Retired	Bronze

South Asian Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka	Chetan Anand	14–21, 12–21	Silver

IBF World Grand Prix

The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1999	U.S. Open	Colin Haughton	6–15, 0–15	Runner-up

IBF International

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2006	India Satellite	Lee Cheol-ho	11–21, 11–21	Runner-up
2006	Victorian International	Richard Vaughan	20–22, 13–21	Runner-up
2005	South Africa International	Kaveh Mehrabi	15–8, 15–7	Winner
2004	Mauritius International	Abhinn Shyam Gupta	16–17, 8–15	Runner-up
2003	Le Volant d'Or de Toulouse	Andreas Wölk	15–9, 15–11	Winner
2002	Welsh International	Irwansyah	6–15, 11–15	Runner-up
2001	Scottish International	Irwansyah	5–7, 6–8, 2–7	Runner-up
1998	Sri Lanka International	Ting Chih-chen	15–13, 15–6	Winner

Sources

• Kanetkar, Saina lead D-day challenge
• I choose not to be frustrated: Kanetkar
• Nikhil Kanetkar loses in semis
• task for shuttlers – Aparna Popat, Abhinn Shyam Gupta and Nikhil Kanetkar carry Indian hopes^{[dead link]}
• Nikhil Kanetkar is runner-up^[usurped]