Aditi has what it takes for shuttle service

Says Aditi, who was top-seeded in the section, “I have already begun working on these aspects in right earnest and hope to reverse the result the next time I play Krishna.”

This she says, because her loss was the second in as many meetings. The last time in an All-India junior meet at Indore in 1998, Aditi lost hollow, managing just one point. At Vijaywada the margin was much healthier (11-15, 11-4). Aditi, trains at the Feeder Centre of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) based at the WIE Sports Commplex. Under Anil Modak and Hemant Hardikar, she targets her aims one step at a time. “I would like to become the National under-16 champion,” she declares.

For Aditi, her association with the sport dates back three years in Mumbai where the Mutatkars were based prior to moving to Pune this year owning to her father’s job transfer to Satara.

It was only because of Aditi’s penchant for badminton that she along with her mother and younger sister opted to stay in the city.

She first wielded a racquet playing outdoor badminton in her residential colony and before long represented Parle Girls High School in an inter-schools tournament. How did she make the team? Aditi though lost for words, says “I simply walked up to my teacher and told him of my interests and about my victories. He was convinced and I was on.”

Aditi gleefully adds: “It was quite an experience as we made the semi-finals before bowing out.” Aditi’s potential was there for all to see abnd her parents put her into formal training at the Andheri Sports Complex under coach Santosh Kshatriya.

Aditi is theoretically sound and finds the sport good overall – demanding a high level of stamina and at the same time suppleness and skill. But that does not affect her happy-go-lucky approach to life. Aditi’s interests also include singing, dancing and she’s eager to try her hand at any other outdoor sport.

Aditi, a seventh grader at Abhinav Vidyalaya (Primary), idolises Prakash Padukone. Although she hasn’t seen him play she’s heard of his heroics and they’ve been a source of inspiration. Encouraging words in “keep it up,” from the Indian icon in Bangalore, vividly jingles in Aditi’s ears – who come what may wants to make badminton as career.

Her intention throws light on one aspect – losing a player, so meticulously groomed, to institutions who offer goodies aplenty. Another player with a bright future, junior national champion Mugdha Bhagwat, was lost to the State after Air-India offered her a scholarship to play. How the Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA) would react to a case like Aditi’s is to be seen.