Dehradun: There is a tenacity in Anmol Kharb and Unnati Hooda that make them special. At the National Games here, the teenage shuttlers are shouldering the responsibility of Haryana, brimming with confidence and energy. Riding on their stellar performances, Haryana defeated Uttarakhand to win gold in the women’s badminton team championship.
Competing in back-to-back matches in the best-of-five tie – they also combined in doubles — Anmol and Unnati showed little signs of fatigue. “When you are playing for Haryana, it just gives that extra push to perform and win,” says Unnati, 17. “We have had some very tough matches. It’s very competitive, and it will help me come out strong.”
The two teenage prodigies are India’s biggest hopes in this Olympic cycle to establish themselves in the international circuit. Making the transition at top will not be easy though as the tag of India’s next Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu keeps chasing them.
“I don’t see it as pressure on me. It’s just that people are wondering who is the next Saina or Sindhu. I don’t think like that,” says Anmol, 18. “I have to focus on my game. Badminton is my passion and not any burden on me.”
Anmol trains at the Pullela Gopichand academy in Gachibowli, Hyderabad, under the guidance of the master coach and former international Parupalli Kashyap. Unnati continues to train in Rohtak.
In the team championship final against a tough Uttarakhand side – most of them train at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Bengaluru – Anmol and Unnati were at their attacking best. Devika Sihag gave Haryana the lead. Though Unnati lost her singles match to Aditi Bhatt in a 70-minute thriller, she was back on court in no time for the doubles that went for another three-games, against sisters Gayatri Rawat and Mansa Rawat. The Haryana pair put their team ahead and Unnati then had enough in the tank to thrash Akshita Manral to clinch the tie. For the third day on the trot, the two girls were competing in back-to-back matches yet thriving.
The resilience and fearlessness they bring on court reminds one of a young Saina Nehwal. Last year, the selectors picked Anmol for the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Malaysia to test the teenager, who emerged as a pleasant surprise with her feisty game, winning three deciding matches that saw the Indian women’s team, spearheaded by Sindhu, bag a historic gold in the event. Not since Saina’s emergence as a 16-year-old prodigy at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games has any Indian teenager shown such fire at the international stage.
Since then, Anmol has charted her course. She has shifted from her base from Noida to Hyderabad in the Gopichand academy. Her family has rented a place near the academy and her mother has shifted to be with Anmol.
“The training is a lot different now. Earlier, on court training was less but now it has increased to two sessions followed by one session of off-court training. That has been helpful in improving my accuracy of strokes and skillset,” says Anmol.
“I am playing more freely rather than thinking of winning or losing. The mindset has changed.
“From the first match it is tough in international senior level. Everyone comes prepared. Every match has to be well planned and then recovery is also important to be ready the next day. You have to be ready to play three games.”
Anmol knows that it will take some time to perform at the international level. “I have just recently started playing at such high level. I played Sindhu didi (India Open) and I thought I did well. Those kinds of matches give me confidence.”
Gopichand is guiding in planning her schedule while Kashyap is training her at the academy. “We needed to shift to a bigger academy and we couldn’t have got a better person than Gopichand sir to guide us. It’s been such a relief. This a crucial period for her and we are hoping she will be deliver on her promise,” says Anmol’s father Devender.
