Not many saw the disciplined hustle and hard work that were the building blocks of the late shuttler Syed Modi’s ‘lazy elegance’. But what subsequent Indian shuttlers, some of whom played in Lucknow this last week, owe him, is unfailing accuracy on the corners and lines, achieved with skill in strokes. Give a raconteur 3 minutes, and he will wrap up his assessment of Modi’s game as ‘gifted strokeplay’; give him 23, and he will wax eloquent on the nuts & bolts & spanners that could make or break that lazy elegance. Uday Pawar, Mumbai-based contemporary of Syed Modi, says his old pal was ‘laid-back,’ not quite ‘lazy’ on court and his legacy was that disciplined precision. For Uday Pawar, his warm friendship with Modi had writhing origins: and they bluntly discussed its contours. Along with another then-junior talent Vikram Singh, Modi and Pawar were tipped to follow in Prakash Padukone’s Indian surge in international badminton, being four years younger to him. Their match-ups in national tournaments were curious. Pawar lost 3 National finals to …