Overview            

The badminton court is filled with shouts as a player hits a smash that sends an opponent diving on the floor. The Girl’s Badminton Team is practicing hard with BOSM just around the corner.

The team has a total of seven players. Training started five days into the semester, and the team has been hard at work with the captain spurring them on. The team has been practicing for two hours every evening; morning practice will commence for them in early September once the coach joins them.

The team doesn’t face any academic issues leading up to BOSM; on the contrary, a second year player claimed that the playing energised her, and actually helped out in studies. The only problem that they face is during BOSM itself since classes are not cancelled for the duration of the fest.

Past performance

The team won the gold in BOSM 2015. In last year’s BOSM however, they got the bronze, while LNIPE got the silver and Venky’s snatched the gold.

Recruitments

The team remains nearly unchanged from last year with only one new recruit. With only one court to practice on, a team with quality is more feasible than a team with quantity. Recruits are expected to play as well as the rest of the team since there isn’t much time to train before BOSM. Training new players may be taken up after BOSM, so aspiring players may still keep their hopes high.

Captain’s Interview

Mahita, in her third year and the current captain of the Girls’ Badminton team, is a veteran on the court. She has been playing all kinds of sports since she was 13, but badminton is her sport of choice.

She became the captain last semester, and believes that she has a responsibility to keep the team moving forward. The captaincy makes her put in more efforts for the team, but her game has maintained its consistency. Even as she speaks, she maintains a sharp eye on her practicing team, occasionally giving instructions.

Many people do not try out for sports as they think of it as a drain on time and energy. Mahita isn’t bothered by this view – if the players are truly committed, they will come, and if they aren’t, they are not needed. In her opinion, balancing academics and her game is not as hard as people make it out to be. The players have the day free for themselves, so there’s no reason to put academics on the backseat.

When asked about her experience with the CoSSAc and the Institute, she only has a cryptic reply – “They do what they have to do.” The CoSSAc’s decision to provide referees for BOSM ’17 comes as a relief to the players, who had to manage the refereeing themselves in previous editions of BOSM.

As part of the gold winning team in BOSM ‘15, and a past winner of the best player award, last year’s bronze has only served to spur her on. She is optimistic about her team’s performance this year, and hopes to lead them to the gold.