With badminton being one of the most popular sports on the campus, watching 40 odd players share the 3 courts is pretty common. But as the clock struck 5:30, the badminton team arrived and two out of the three courts were promptly cleared out for their practice. On the farthest court the girl’s team, occasionally joined by their coach, could be seen practising hard for the fest that starts in less than a week’s time.

The team began their preparations shortly after the new semester started, practicing for an hour in the morning and for two hours in the evening. As usual, they are going to field two teams of four members each in this year’s fest. The competition is conducted in a team-based format, with each tie comprising of two singles and one doubles match.

This year, the team has decided to change its strategy and has worked more on increasing fitness which will directly result in better flexibility, mobility, and strength. The next step is to improve their technical skills by conducting various drills like shadow running, shuttle picking, etc. Also, the type of matches played by each player has been decided, allowing players to concentrate on their respective ties.

Believing in quality over quantity, the team recruited only a single fresher this year. During the trials, the team looked for technically sound players as BOSM is not that far away. However, badminton enthusiasts should not be disheartened as they can always improve their game and return for trials the next year.

The team captain, Aditi Arya was a student of the Birla Balika Vidyapeeth and has been playing badminton since the 6th grade. Apart from playing a lot of state and district level competitions, she has been selected for the nationals three times. She is committed to the sport and somehow manages to squeeze it into her schedule.

In BOSM 2017, the girl’s team won the bronze medal. Last year they had also participated in IIT Roorkee’s sports festival Sangram and won the gold medal, in which Aditi was adjudged to be the best player of the tournament. Like last BOSM, the team expects DU, SRCC, and Venky to provide tough competition. So this time, the captain has decided to field all the stronger players in Team A, in search for the elusive gold.

On being asked about the difficulties she has faced while being a captain, Aditi replied, ‘Although being the captain has improved my leadership qualities, handling the team, improving my game and managing my academics at the same time is a hell of a task’, especially considering that she is a 3rd year dualite. Although she finds it tough to train the girls who haven’t played the game for the past two years, she gives a lot of credit for the team’s success to the squad who are hardworking and very cooperative.

The ardent P.V Sindhu fan is unfazed by these roadblocks and tries to continuously inspire her team. With BOSM around the corner, she has started a rigorous training program in order to remain fit which she feels motivates other members. When asked about her experiences with the CoSSAc and the sports council, she replied that she found them to be very cooperative and extremely helpful.

On being asked on what motivates her to continue devoting her time to the game, she replied that it is her love for the game and the desire to become better at it. ‘I didn’t come here to be mediocre.’