Muristek
New Delhi, April 21
With an eye on the future, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) today named a number of youngsters, including 14-year-old Rohtak girl Unnati Hooda, in the Indian squads for the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Thomas and Uber Cup.
Hooda, Akarashi Kashyap, Aditi Bhat, Priyanshu Rajawat and Asmita Chaliha are some of the new faces that were selected after the national trials in New Delhi. Only Kashyap has been selected for all the three tournaments.
World No. 2 PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth have all been selected. The most notable omission was Saina Nehwal, who skipped the trials owing to workload issues.
The emergence of the new crop has brought a sense of optimism, with national selector and former India coach Vimal Kumar upbeat about the youngsters.
"I am impressed with the way these youngsters played during the trials," Vimal said. "It was a big opportunity for most of them. They had to play a lot more matches and while it was tough, all of them coped well so that's a good sign for the future. This is the right time for the government, SAI and BAI to provide extra support to these young players," he added.
Madhya Pradesh's 20-year-old Rajawat, who made the cut for the Asian Games and Thomas Cup squads, said he had no expectations.
"I was a little worried about my chances as there were a lot of experienced players in the trials but now that I am in I will try to learn from my seniors," Rajawat said.
If Rajawat was feeling the nerves, Hooda said she came to the trials without feeling the pressure to win.
"I was the youngest here at the trials. Everyone was way more experienced than me and so there was no pressure on me as I had nothing to lose," said Hooda. "I am happy for the selection but this is just the start. I want to win titles going forward," added the youngster who trains at Rohtak's Sir Chhotu Ram Stadium.