PANAJIrrrTanisha Crasto: I was around four-years-old, when I used to accompany my dad to the Etisalat Academy, Dubai everyday where he used to go and play the shuttle sport. I used to sit and watch him play and gradually developed a liking to the game. He then discovered that I had a talent in me for the game and thereon made me practice regularly and that is why I am here today. rrQ: Tell us about your first competitive tourney experience? rTanisha: Aged seven, at the India Club, Dubai I remember winning the U-10 Girls and that I was pretty nervous as it was my first tournament. But due to the fact that my dad and then coach Afshin as also with the rest of my family to support, it helped to boost up my self-confidence and win the tourney. rrQ: And, how has been your journey as a competitive shuttler since? rTanisha: Post that tourney, my training went up to the next level. I gradually started winning the U-16 Girls’ titles facing a few good competitors along the way. I then began to move to other parts of the Gulf to compete. At 11, in Qatar, I won the Girls’ U-12, U-14, U-16 titles. Two years later, in Bahrain, aged 13 at the GCC Bahrain Junior Open I won a triple crown – U-15, U-17, U-19 Girls’ singles. I had also gone to Malaysia to participate in a tourney aged 11, whereby I reached the quarters in one of the Junior tourneys. Last year, at the Bahrain International challenge I received the Gold with my partner in the women’s doubles. Meanwhile, at the Schools’ CBSE Nationals, at 11, I won Gold in mixed doubles as well as winning the award of the Best Player of the tourney while representing Indian High School, Dubai. Last year, at 13, I was the silver medalist in the individual as also the team events. Just before coming to Goa, at the 40th UAE Open, Dubai I won a treble – U-16 Girls’, Ladies singles and the mixed doubles. rrQ: What are the records that you hold? rTanisha: I have recently set a meet record at the UAE’s biggest tourney by being the youngest teenager to win the women’s singles category. Besides this, at the CBSE nationals, aged 11, I won a gold thereby being the only girl in the whole of GCC to win gold. rrQ: Which has been your most memorable game? rTanisha: I would consider my mixed doubles recent win at the UAE Open partnering Ketan Chahal as from the top draw. We were up against the top seeds from Indonesia. The girl, Febriani Endar Kusumawati was a world junior champion while her partner, Dea Adi Ranga is among the better players in UAE who earlier represented Indonesia. The game which went to three sets had my partner sustain an injury in the course of the encounter and it was difficult for him to cover up yet we won. rrQ: On not quitting, I read somewhere that you wanted to give up on the game early. What had happened? rTanisha: At 10, I wanted to quit badminton as I felt a lot of pressure in coping with my studies as lot of hours went into training for the sport and I thus found it difficult to manage between the two things at once. At that time, I felt like quitting and giving myself a break. But my parents (Clifford and Tulip) encouraged me. rrQ: You have played two tournaments in Goa rrecently. How have you performed? rTanisha: Last month, at the Peddem Sports Complex, at the State Sub Junior Badminton Championship 2017, I bagged the U-15 Girls singles as well as the U-15 Girls doubles partnering Lydia Barreto. There was a bit of competition but I was able to handle that. More recently, on July 1 and 2, I took part in the State Junior Badminton Championship 2017 at the Indoor Sports Complex, Sanquelim. The competition was pretty good with the likes of Anjana, Yasmeen around. Playing Anar in the U-19 Girls finals, I developed cramps in the decisive third set and could not play eventually losing the game. But in the U-17 Girls finals against Yasmeen, it was quite an easy match to tackle that I won. In the U-17 Girls doubles, partnering Lydia we won the title and it helped a great deal that we coordinated with each other pretty well. For having reached the semi-finals, partnering Shaurya Joshi in the U-19 mixed doubles and Rhea Mallya, in the U-19 Girls doubles, I picked up two bronze medals. rrQ: What are the tournaments in the pipeline? rTanisha: Over the next two months, I would be featuring in the all – India ranking tourney in Jodhpur from July 9-15 where I will play the U-17, U-19 Girls singles and U-17 Girls doubles, then represent Goa in the West Zone in Gujarat and thereafter play in the senior State Championship in Goa from August 5-6, singles and mixed doubles partnering Prateek Mahajan and the following weekend, participate in the Juniors Championship, both at Campal, Panaji. rrQ: What are your dreams and aspirations? rTanisha: I want to be the women’s world number 1 shuttler and win an Olympic gold medal. I am working really hard to reach that level as India has really good competition and it will be hard to tackle them all. With over 70 medals, 150 trophies and innumerable certificates being a testimonial to the ninth grader’s burgeoning career, the UAE No. 1 seeded U-15, U-17 Girls shuttler can look forward to make the most of her seven hours a day rigours on the courts to realize her lofty dreams.
