Why Rakshitha, a shuttler with a tactical mind who aces the rally game, is one to watch out for

She is 5 ‘6 ” at age 17, with a natural inclination to keep the rally going, but blessed with a good punch from the back-court. Encouraged by her father to start out in the sport at 9, she made the move to Hyderabad pretty early, with her mom accompanying her.

It was a tough two years as Covid struck within weeks of her relocating, and she was confined indoors. But the mere chance to play and train, without competitions, turned Rakshitha into an ace rally player – who could spend long hours attempting to keep the shuttle in play.

But midway through this year her coaches at the Gopichand Academy, told her retrieving wasn’t enough and she needed to amp up the aggression – adding sharpness and fizz to her punch drops and fast smashes, slices and fast blocks.

“I had to move faster than the shuttle, and coaches said if I wanted to play fast strokes, the feet needed to move quicker. I had to make my opponent play much more and not give them time to react,” she says. She was put on 200-400 short sprint drills, to rev up the wheels and to help her add the punch to her strokes.

Her height helps the No 75 in court coverage but she still needs speed and endurance for imbalanced strokes. At the Hylo Open in Saarbrucken Germany, Rakshitha Sree scalped Scottish World No 25 Kirsty Gilmour, playing a fine game from the back court, and a dependable one at the net, where she can improve plenty.

A fan of Tai Tzu-ying, Rakshitha though is being trained to maximize her reach, even as she realises that even her rally style isn’t enough to collect points. “In seniors you realise, you have to work hard and play 10-15 strokes just to set up one point. Opponents, especially the Chinese never give up.”

“I also forget to be aggressive,” says the mild-mannered woman, only just learning to pump her fists. There’s been comical instances of delayed point-celebration and a belated scream when she suddenly remembers. She’s working out the broad contours of aggression. “Coach Rahul Yadav has to remind me before every big match to shout for crucial points. I think it helps me not be nervous, but they say it also helps distract and disturb the opponent. It’s like a mental game,” she adds. Aggression or not, there’s a blaze to her smashes that’s hard to miss, and she can be nippy when covering 3 corners one after another.

Along with national champion Devika Sihag, Rakshitha Sree offers part-answers to next-Sindhu question. Both can make the shuttle travel. Both have a long way to go too, but are grooved onto the precise track from where careers can take off.