Being unseeded doesn’t weigh me down anymore: Ashmita

Indian badminton’s new star kid on the block, 19-year-old Ashmita Chaliha from Assam, won the final of the Tata Open International Challenge in Mumbai on Sunday. This was the unseeded teenager’s second ever senior international tournament, and she has won both. In November, appearing at her first international meet, she had won the Dubai International Challenge.

Speaking to TOI after the medal ceremony, Ashmita said, “I have been beating opponents I used to lose to earlier because I now play without any expectations. It does not weigh me down that I am not seeded and that my opponents are.”

Ashmita had never managed to beat Vrushali Gummadi, Sunday’s losing finalist, before this, but she outclassed her in straight sets on Sunday. On way to the final, the comparatively unheralded shuttler had beaten the world No. 62 and the world No. 85. Considering she did not hold a world rank before the Dubai tournament, it would be apt to say she has shocked many over the last two months. She entered the BWF rankings at world No. 278 after the Dubai title, a rank which will surge when the updated rankings are released later this week.

“My game has changed a lot in the last six months. I used to engage in rallies a lot earlier, try to play drop shots. Now I play in a much more attacking manner. The two advantages I enjoy are that I am left-handed and my speed,” the former junior national No. 1 said.

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The change in Ashmita’s game has clearly worked wonders. Having come to the national recognition for the first time when she was selected to be part of the Asian Games squad earlier this year, the southpaw has been on a juggernaut recently. She did not drop a single set on way to the title in Dubai last month, and dropped only one set in the Mumbai tournament, in a 18-21, 21-16, 21-12 win over top seed Ksenia Polikarpova of Israel.

“The match against the Israeli opponent was my toughest of recent times. The match against the Thai opponent was also tough. I had played her once before and lost,” she said.

Ashmita has been making waves in the country’s badminton circuit recently, but she started playing the sport only because of circumstances. She said, “My father was a tennis player and wanted me to play as well, but the tennis court was very far from our house, while there was a badminton court down the road. Despite being a racquet sports family, we don’t talk about sports at home almost ever.”

On her immediate targets, Ashmita said, “I aim to break into the world top 50 by next year. My immediate focus is on the senior nationals in February next year.”

Assam has never produced an International Challenge series tournament winner before this, but there was a time when the state had the country’s best shuttler — Dipankar Bhattacharjee, the former India No 1 during whose heyday Pullella Gopichand played second fiddle. Speaking on Ashmita’s surge on the world circuit recently, the Olympic pre-quarterfinalist said, “This is a proud moment for Assam and I see a long and bright road ahead of Ashmita if her support system stays intact.”

“The system in place in Assam was healthy during my time, too, but it has definitely improved a lot since then. There are five courts at the Assam Badminton Academy (ABA) now instead of two. There are Indonesian coaches at work. Even if Gopichand and Padukone’s academies are better, this formula is working for Ashmita. Psychologically speaking, training while staying at home is a big advantage.”

“The ABA has done a very good job with the coaches, but maybe they can now focus on areas like sports science, sports physiology, physiotherapy, psychology.”