Chirag Trades Racketwork for Brushstrokes
It is difficult, Chirag Shetty says, to watch others play when he cannot. The fast-rising men’s doubles talent from India has been home in Mumbai since the early days of the lockdown in March. With the pandemic…
· DEV SUKUMAR
It is difficult, Chirag Shetty says, to watch others play when he cannot. The fast-rising men’s doubles talent from India has been home in Mumbai since the early days of the lockdown in March. With the pandemic showing no signs of easing up, Shetty has had to content himself with training at home, while watching with some concern as teams elsewhere in the world return to regular training.
One unexpected ally that he found in this period was painting. Shetty, inspired by his senior compatriot Ajay Jayaram and a few other badminton-playing friends, started with watercolour on paper and has progressed to acrylic on canvas.
“I’ve started painting, which I never did before. Initially during the lockdown I got a few watercolours, but could only draw on paper. Then I went to a proper store and got canvas and acrylic paints. I’d wanted to paint before, but couldn’t find the time. But now that I have time, I told myself why not try this?