With BOSM right around the corner, the BOSM English Press sat down with Akshat Mandavagne, Captain of the Boys’ Badminton team, to learn more about the team’s preparations.

There would be three events in badminton matches: a men’s team event, a women’s team event, and a mixed team event. All of them would feature three singles and two doubles matches, except for the mixed team event which will showcase three doubles and two singles matches.

Akshat mentioned that the team planned to start practising on August 11. However, due to scheduling issues involving the in-charge of the Student Activity Centre (SAC), they could only begin in earnest from August 22. He added that inventory issues persisted for several days afterwards which proved to be detrimental to their practice. Presently the team practices for 90 minutes each morning and evening and prioritises agility training. He stated that to accommodate the team members’ academics, he will not be increasing the intensity of the training in the coming days.

He mentioned that although the new recruits were working hard and practising diligently, he was not completely satisfied with their performance. However, all of them would be playing for the team in BOSM.

Akshat revealed that in an effort to improve the team’s performance from last year, he introduced a few changes in the training regime. A system to compensate for missed practice was included in the same. He said that the team looked forward to the matches with Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and Sri Venkateswara College (Venky) and expected tough competition from them, owing to the sports quota in their admissions.

When asked about his experience as a captain, Akshat gleamed with joy and said that he felt extremely proud to be the captain of the badminton team. He praised the team’s demeanour and the juniors’ sacrifices for the team. Even though his academics had taken a hit, he stated that currently he only prioritised Badminton. To conclude, he wished to tell the BITSians, ‘Go hard or go home’.