Teen smashes her way to international badminton tournament

It was her performance at the competition that earned her a place in the team that will represent the US at the Pan American Continental Badminton tournament. 
Roshni Venkat
Roshni Venkat

BENGALURU: A typical day in Roshni Venkat’s life involves travelling for over 60 km. Commuting between her home on Old Airport Road and school on Sarjapur Road and her badminton coaching centre in Hennur, the upcoming champ admits it’s a tiring and draining routine, which remains undisturbed even during exams. But the effort has paid off, with the 16-year-old shuttler getting selected to compete in the Pan-American Badminton Tournament, playing with the Under-19 USA team. The event is scheduled to be held in July in Brazil. 

Roshni, who holds an American passport, is looking forward to the upcoming challenge, upbeat as she is after emerging as the runner-up at the Badminton International Trials tournament in Los Angeles last week. It was her performance at the competition that earned her a place in the team that will represent the US at the Pan American Continental Badminton tournament. 

The teenager first held a badminton racquet at the age of seven. Nine years later, she is the only girl of Indian origin to qualify for this tournament. Whether on court or off it, the athlete follows one mantra: Staying as calm and composed as possible. This has helped her manage her academics and sports with equal ease. 

“I try to stay as focussed as possible. I have no fixed strategy. If I find that my opponent is aggressive, I try to hit more downward strokes. I figure out as I go along,” she says.Winning and losing are part of the game and the budding sportsperson understands this well. “ I analyse the reasons behind my loss in a game and try to work on them. If I feel I can do better with my fitness levels, then I train harder on that aspect,” she says. 

Roshni understands the tough road ahead since she hopes to represent the US some day. “The competition there is fierce,” she says, adding that she hasn’t, however, given a thought to taking up the game professionally, and is simply taking one day at a time. 

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