Budding Bangalore-based badminton ace Shikha Gautam (15) is set to go places. In 2012 she was ranked #1 in the Under-15 doubles (with partner Mahima Aggarwal) and #2 in singles. Since the start of this year, she’s won four titles in the U-17 and U-19 singles and doubles categories at the Li Ning 5-star state ranking championships staged in Davangere (Karnataka). Later in August, she bested the top ten seeds in U-17 national selection tournament in Bangalore.

The only child of Rajesh Gautam, a corporate executive, and mother Deepali, a homemaker, who relocated to Bangalore from Nasik (Maharashtra) in 2011 so that Shikha could train in the garden city’s nationally reputed Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA),  this class X student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ulsoor, attributes her success to home, teacher and PPBA support. “My parents and coaches are great pillars of strength as are my school teachers who encourage me and make special arrangements for me to take missed exams. I am also grateful to Go Sports Foundation for supporting my travel and residential expenses when on tour,” acknowledges Shikha.

Fascinated by the flight of the shuttlecock in her early years, Shikha took to the courts in Nasik at age seven. “My interest in the sport deepened as I watched Saina Nehwal compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” she says. “In my first U-13 national tournament (2010), I defeated a number of seeded players to finish runners-up. The next year I was selected to represent India at the Sub-Junior Asia Badminton Championships staged in Chiba (Japan). A tough draw had me facing off with Japan’s #1 seed in the first match itself. Even though I fared poorly, my confidence rose to new levels, eventually leading to my selection to train at PPBA, which was a dream come true,” says Shikha, who has been learning the finer points of the game for the past two years under the guidance of Vimal Kumar, Asian Games bronze medallist and former national coach (2003-06). At PPBA, she also avails the services of Indonesian coach and Olympic gold medallist (doubles) Yusuf Jauhari. To date, this promising teen has won 20 medals in district, state and national level tournaments apart from winning 100 trophies.

Intent on donning India colours in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil, this promising shuttler has a hard time balancing academics with badminton. “At the moment I have to concentrate on my board exams. In Plus Two even though my strength is math and science, I plan to opt for commerce which will allow me to devote more time on developing my game,” she says.

Power to your racquet!