Earliest memory I have with my racket is playing street badminton with my father: Unnati Hooda
Unnati Hooda became the youngest Indian to win a Super 100 tournament as she defeated compatriot Smit Toshniwal to claim the Odisha Open women’s singles title.
14 year old Unnati Hooda who hails from Haryana, has become the youngest Indian to win a Super 100 tournament at the Odisha Open 2022. Social media users have been hailing Hooda as the new badminton sensation. Over the moon with her achievement, the teenager says, “I got a chance to play against senior players and learn a lot through this tournament, so I am really happy about it. While I’m excited about the win I am also grateful for the learning experiences that I’m taking back from the entire tournament.”
Hooda defeated senior player Malvika Bansod in semi-finals, which automatically put her in the spotlight as Malvika Bansod had previously defeated seasoned players like Saina Nehwal. One wonders what was going on in Hooda’s mind before her match with Bansod. “Match se pehle maine sirf yeh socha tha ki mujhe apna best dena hai. I wasn’t thinking of defeating my opponent, I was only focused upon delivering my best. After winning from my senior Malvika Bansod, the thought that crossed my mind was that if I play as well as I did right now in the finals, I am geared for a win,” she says.
Hooda’s journey to winning the Odisha Open women’s singles title dates back to her childhood when she started playing badminton even before turning in to a pre-teen! “I started playing badminton from the age of 7 years. My parents always encouraged me to pursuit sports. The earliest memory I have with my racket is playing street badminton with my father! We also use to play badminton in the park near my home. My father made me get professionally trained from Parvesh sir who has been my coach since 2014. I have been training in Rohtak and my house is just 10 minutes away from my training centre,” she tells us.
Talking about her dreams for the future, Hooda says, “PV Sindhu is my role model and just like her, I want to win a medal for my country at the international level one day.” But does being a champion at the age of 14 eat away at other aspects of a teenager’s life? “Certainly not. I live a balanced life. I’ve never felt that badminton took over my entire life or that I missed out on my childhood because of being obsessed with badminton. I think a balanced life is the key to success for every professional. I train in the morning and evening and also attend school. I have friends and I also enjoy sports other than badminton like swimming and football,” says Hooda.
To all aspiring athletes who are looking up to her, Hooda has a message! “My message for all aspiring athletes is that whatever your dream may be, work hard for it and find your anchors - the people who will support you along your journey and keep them close,” she shares.
Hooda’s coach Parvesh Kumar feels that her achievement has brought even more pride to Haryana, which is a state that is already hailed for giving India star athletes. “Unnati’s achievement in the Odisha Open 2022 has proved that Haryana is not only popular for churning out champions in power sports like kabaddi and wrestling, but also a budding place for champions of racket sports,” he says.
So did the coach put Hooda on a special diet while training her for the championship? “Nahi. Dood, dahi, badam, choorma and home cooked meals were important parts of her diet. She didn’t take any special diet along with her training,” he shares.
What was the most challenging task while coaching Hooda to compete with seasoned players? “Unnati has trained in a nice yet humble government facility at Rohtak, Haryana, while her competitors have trained in big cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore that have state of the art facilities. Despite that, her passion for her game, the support of her parents really helped make up for whatever facilities we didn’t have,” says Kumar.
As an athlete what are some strengths that helped Hooda win? “Come rain or thunder, Unnati turned up for coaching on every day - be it a festival - from 5:00 am in the morning. I always try that my students don’t get overwhelmed by their wins. And Unnati has been very modest and disciplined in that aspect. I am so proud of her. For Unnati to defeat an international player like Malvika Bansod who had defeated Saina Nehwal, is a big achievement and I credit that to her hard work and passion,” says Kumar who Hooda credits for her win as much as she credits her parents.
Author tweets @FizzyBuddha