From crutches to a final, Ashmita Chaliha completes the Korean cycle

Local shuttler Kim Ga Ram was battling on an adjacent court. But the crowd was riveted by the all-India contest between Rakshitha and Ashmita as both shuttlers unfurled attacks that were magnetic and entertaining in their shot quality. Ashmita’s standout quality was just how high she took the shuttle, creating all these deft angles while keeping it aggressive.

Ashmita’s hand speed combined with the leftie angles denied Rakshitha early entry into a rally, and she trailed 13-6 and 9-1 in the first and third set, effectively being driven out of the match when the 26-year-old Ashmita played from the faster side.

It wasn’t just the overheads where Ashmita showed great speed and urgency to dislodge Rakshitha, who smashed a racquet in frustration. The Assamese had the crowd on its feet when she flicked a dipping shuttle inches off the backline and managed to send it over the net.

It was a semifinal between World No 50 and the World No 49, but the older Indian, on her comeback, was both fighting fit and calmly aggressive, building a good lead and putting Rakshitha under pressure. The knee from two years ago had been a memory needing closure, and her bouncy confidence was evidence that the crutches from Korea were safely tucked away.

Mother Geetali recalls the dampener of an August in Bangalore. “PPBA took good care of her and her employers helped land an appointment with Dr Pardiwala for an emergency surgery in Mumbai in two days, which would otherwise take a month and a half. But Korea was a painful memory,” she recalls. “Injuries happen to every sportsman. I told her even Tendulkar and Dhoni have battled injuries. But it took a long time,” she says. It was 8 months before she returned to the court, and two years till she made the finals.

Her ranking had slipped over 200.

Ashmita returned to Guwahati, but stays at the National Centre hostel in the same city, coming home only over the weekend.

Undocumented struggles

Her struggles as a non-prodigy are not really documented, even as the Indian propensity to write off talent after age 23 if it doesn’t medal big continues. “She was hurt by criticism. She used to wonder, ‘they say nice things when I peak but pass negative comments when I lose.’ It would affect her, but now she’s settled into a groove and doesn’t bother,” her mother says.

The game has always been there. If anything, it was the most talented game after Sindhu’s. A hop smash, an entire arc of attacking pushes and the ability to keep the game away from the net — all at a fast clip. “Earlier, she would make errors and not learn from them. Now she rectifies quickly. The maturity has come with age,” her mother says. “She was immature before.” An enigma who loves watching motor-racing, playing video games and listening to music, but only with her closest friends, Ashmita struggled to fit in in Bangalore even while her game improved.

She won India a crucial WS2 match at the Asian team gold win, but it was evident that she needed a coach who would constantly be on her case and not let her drift.

Earlier this year, she did well at Malaysia and Macau to reach No 50, but the surge into finals has finally played out at Korea. “What keeps her going is that she truly loves badminton. It’s an in-born drive. She loves to play, looks forward to practising, and enjoys it. At 26, she is back to fighting. Fingers crossed for the final,” her mother says.

Ashmita Chaliha might prove to be coach Park Tae Sang’s big challenge with the goal to steer the prodigious talent, albeit not a prodigy, back into the elite tier.