Tara looking to shine on Indonesia badminton courts

Pune shuttler Tara Shah 18 the only player from Maharashtra in Indias team for the Badminton Junior Asia Championships at Yogyakarta Indonesia July 716 wants to make the most of her opportunityHaving made it to the India team the National Institute of Open Schooling NIOS Class XII student said her next target is to make an impact on the international stageIn the group stage India are pitted in Group C along with Malaysia Bangladesh and Hong Kong The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stageIn earlier editions India have won two gold medals 2012 and 2018 one silver 2011 and a bronze in 2016Also Read Indian junior shuttlers set to participate in Badminton Junior Asia Cships in IndonesiaOn Tuesday before boarding the flight to Indonesia Tara underlined how making it to the India team was not easy I am glad that I kept my emotions in check during the selection trials at Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi from June 4 to 7 and managed to get selected in the Indian team Frankly it is quite difficult to make it to the Top 4 In the selection trials Indias Top 10 players were pitted against each otherldquoEven if you lose the first game you are supposed to continue before you finish your quota of matches The best four are chosen to represent the country from thereldquoLuckily I didnt lose any match till the last two games This was because I was mentally strong I was able to bring out my best game when it mattered she told wwwmiddaycomTalking about the expectations and preparations Tara said training at two academies has helped her get the best of both worldsIn Pune she trains under Hemant Hardikar at Shivajinagars Pune District Metropolitan Badminton Association PDMBA courts and at Danish great Peter Gades academy in Denmark for two months every year since 2019 The selection trials helped me know where I stand I learnt different ways of training from both the academies It was useful to pick up the best from both and emerge stronger physically and mentally Since this is my last year at the U19 level I want to give my best and make an impact In the first week of the championships we have mixed team events July 711 followed by individual events July 1216 I hope we do what the India mens team did at the Thomas Cup defeating 14time champions Indonesia to win their maiden title in the 73yearlong history of the tournament in the mixed team event After that I will get to compete against the best players from Asia China Japan and Korea explained Tara whose favourite player from India is HS Prannoy whom she admires for his consistency Among women players she idolises Chinas reigning Olympic champion Chen Yufei