New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) Fifteen-year-old Indian badminton sensation Tanvi Patri has tempered down her own expectations following a series of injuries, with qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics now remaining one of her major goals over the next two years.
Fresh off a path-breaking silver medal at the Youth Olympics in Dakar, Tanvi also wants to win the Asian Junior Championships and World Junior Championships besides breaking into the top-30 of the world rankings.
She also needs to be in top-16 by the qualification date in 2028 to qualify for LA Olympics.
Tanvi has had to deal with knee, hamstring and most recently back injury in her budding career.
“Like earlier I used to say that my aim is to get a medal for my country in LA. But now, like this year also I had back injury.And last year also I had hamstring injury. So, I think my aim is to like to qualify for LA and play my best there for now.
“I know it’s hard to qualify but still I’ll try my best to qualify for LA 2028.And for next year, I think my goal is to win the Asian Under-19 Junior Championships and the World Junior Championships,” she said in a virtual media interaction.
The girl from Odisha could not do well in the world juniors last month as she was not in the best of health.
Tanvi’s badminton journey began in China where her father used to work at a major shoe brand. The learnings in her early years came from two Chinese coach Xu and Wu before she moved back to India in 2020. She now trains at the Prakash Padukone Academy in Bengaluru.
“The first Chinese coach who taught me, he just passed away last year.I’m in touch with the other Chinese coach. He has also helped me a lot.Both of them have helped me a lot in improving my technique, footwork and action. I think the first Chinese coach who passed away, the one advice he taught me was you should always focus on your techniques first. Just don’t go play 100 shuttles at a time.
“First you should be focusing on your actions and all. Then when you have perfected it, you just go step by step. Don’t rush and all,” she said on the Chinese influence in her career.
Tanvi idolises Viktor Axelsen, Lin Dan and Tai Tzu Ying and wants to develop a fighting spirit like them.
“I like their attitude on the court and the way they play. And they just don’t give up in points easily even if they’re down. They just try to give their best.And the strokes also, the way they hit is like very confident and accurate. And they’re always patient on the court. They don’t rush to get points,” she said.
“So yeah, I like their way of playing and I like their attitude on the court also.”
On the areas of improvement, Tanvi said: “I think reducing errors from the faster side and half smashes. I think I should work more on the accuracy and more on my strength and physical conditions also. I also want my smash to have more power and accuracy.”
Tanvi said dabbling with blade skating in China helped her maintain balance in badminton. She also used to go figure skating when she was in China.
As someone also preparing for 10th board exams next year, Tanvi said it is tough to juggle between studies and badminton.
“It’s hard to manage both. Because after training sessions, I also get tired so much. I don’t get time to study also. I just study forcefully because I have boards next year,” said Tanvi. PTI BS SSC
SSC
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