This was the first tournament where his singles challenge has lasted this distance, taking him to the title. Pant, who has won the National Mini doubles title with Vasu Pandey at Vishakapatnam, had finished runner-up in the under-13 doubles along with Madhur Prakash.

The little-known Pant defeated second seed Prakash Kashyap of Karnataka in the first round, knocked out eighth seed Amit Khadgi in the quarter-finals, third seed Anand Pawar in semi-finals and fourth seed T Dinesh of Andhra in the final.

None of these four players had prepared for this rangy boy from the hills of Almora, UP.

Four years ago, Pant picked up a badminton racquet for the first time. Then, his uncle realised Pant would do better playing badminton than sticking to casual games played near his residence.

Now Pant is under the tutelage ofDK Sen.

Says his coach: ``He has an amazing will to win. I do not have to motivate him at all because he never feels down ever. Negative thoughts just evade this boy.''

Pant plays a forceful game -- attacking almost everything when he sees his opponent getting tired.

Living in a hilly area gives the 12-year-old an edge over the other competitors even if they boast of superior stroke production never-ending lung power. ``He can go on for hours,'' says Sen.

Even international Uday Pawar and the father of Anand who lost to Pant on Wednesday in the semi-finals agrees that his endurance is the biggest gift to the young man.

Indian national coach, S M Arif, who watched the boy play, had this to say: ``For his age, he has amazing stamina and power. But he is making tactical mistakes in a rally. He can cut down his rallies and use the power to decimate his opponent.''

And his biggest likes include big rallies an aspect of the game not many players enjoy.

Moral of the story: Never invite him to a gameof badminton he will leave you panting.