Every afternoon, my parents would walk down to the faculty club at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, where they would play badminton. My sister Abu and I would also go along, and I would usually be asleep. Abu, who is seven years older than me, would carry me while my parents played. Papa remembers that when I was six months old, apparently I shrieked with laughter and followed the shuttle back and forth, thoroughly enjoying the game. I used to be such a serious baby; it was the first time they had heard me laugh like that!

While that’s a nice memory, my actual entry into the game was not all that dramatic. I was born in Haryana and spent my early childhood in Hisar, where my father worked as a scientist at the Haryana Agricultural University… Abu and I went to school right there on the campus. My life was no different from that of the other kids. From 8.30am to 1.30pm I would be at school. After lunch, I was almost always outside the house. I loved being outdoors and playing outdoors, and living in the campus of the Agricultural University, that was one thing we had plenty of. I climbed trees, played cricket and catch — just about any game that kept me out of the house.

When I was eight, Papa was selected as principal scientist at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which required his transfer to Hyderabad. The whole family shifted there. The year was 1998. I missed my school, my friends, and games quite a lot. Also, Hyderabad was a totally new city and Telugu was a language none of us was familiar with. What’s more, we’d shifted during the summer holidays, so I got really bored sitting at home. My parents saw that and enrolled me in a karate class nearby. For a year I learnt karate, going to class for an hour even after school started. I managed to get a brown belt as well!

The following summer, Papa heard of a badminton summer camp being organised by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. He decided to enrol me there. As I had said earlier, both Mummy and Papa had played badminton at Hisar, with Mummy having played for Haryana state as well… Anyway, Papa and I were at the Lal Bahadur Stadium early the next morning to meet the coaches, P.S.S. Nani Prasad and S.L. Goverdhan Reddy, both very senior and respected players. To Papa’s dismay, we were told that selections for the camp were over. Papa would not take no for an answer and looking back, I must say thank God for that! He… requested the coaches to give me a chance. Surprisingly, the coaches agreed and I went on court... That morning, I think I was plain lucky because my first stroke was a lovely smash! Both Nani sir and Goverdhan sir were impressed and the next thing I knew, I had a place in the summer camp.

For the one month that followed, I went to badminton camp every morning. Mummy would take me to Lal Bahadur Stadium. It was quite far from where we lived and I had to wake up really, really early to be there on time… I had never attended a summer camp before and now I had to do exercises like a 400-metre run, skipping, running up and down the stairs, cross-country racing of some 4-5km… I was working out for the first time in my life and it took me quite a while to get used to it. To top it all, Mummy decided that training in the mornings alone was not enough. So every afternoon, we would practise at home. She would teach me the game, the strokes and tell me what I should focus on at camp the next day. She took so much interest in my game that even my coaches would listen to her. As for me, it meant that I was not bored any more, and that’s all I thought of then.

When the camp ended, we were told that one player amongst us would be selected for further training. The selection was to be done by playing the game, of course. I reached the finals but lost to Deethi, a player from Maharashtra… Unfortunately for her, she could not stay as she had to return to her home in Nagpur. Which meant that the spot was open for me, and I slipped right into it. Two lucky strokes in one summer, and they changed my life!

* * *

The school year began and I resumed my 4th standard at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (BVB) Vidhyashram in Hyderabad. My coaching was to continue alongside school and lessons. I had been a good student at Hisar and there was no reason why I shouldn’t continue to be one here as well. But life had just got tougher for me.

…My training was at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Basheerbagh, a distance of some 25km. Every morning, Papa and I would wake up at four, get ready and take the bus to the stadium. I trained between 6 and 8, and then we would rush back so that I could make it to school on time. In the afternoons, Mummy would meet me at the school gates at 3.30 and take me to the stadium. Papa would pick us up later, and by the time we reached home it would be nine in the night and I’d be exhausted.

During the first few years, this rigorous training was extremely hard to keep up. I was also growing, and my leg muscles would ache constantly. Many nights, I used to wake up crying in pain, and Mummy would come to my room and massage my legs with almond oil so that I could train the next day. I remember having dark circles under my eyes too, but giving up was somehow never an option.