“We had to play the challengers, so you can imagine how far the Olympic qualification was,” said 34-year old Ashwini.
The fact that they duly overcame the challenge to earn the chance of representing India at the Paris Olympics in women’s doubles still gives Tanisha “goosebumps”. But before moving forward, let’s see where and how it all began.
“It all started over a meal,” said a smiling Tanisha, who will soon turn 21. “We both love food.
During one of our meals together, we discussed the idea of playing together. Our playing styles complement each other, and it was worth taking a chance.”
But it was a difficult decision for Ashwini, who had stopped playing women’s doubles for a while and was on a break. “But as we talked more, it felt like we should give it a shot. And look how it all worked out,” she said.Their partnership evolved in quick time. “We travelled together because we did not have a support team at that point. We would help each other with our games. We stayed in the same hotel room and bonded at every level. Our off – court chemistry actually helped our on-court chemistry immensely,” said Tanisha.There is no better validation than success. For Ashwin and Tanisha, it was the quarterfinal appearance at the 2023 Hong Kong Open.
“It was in our first Super 500 event and we made the quarter finals. We had never played a big tournament like this and to make the quarter finals in our maiden appearance gave us a lot of selfbelief. That’s when we realised that we could do things as a pair,” said Ashwini, who won 2010 CWG gold in women’s doubles with Jwala Gutta.
While Ashwini is a veteran of her sport and will be playing her third Olympics, Tanisha is fresh and has immense potential. It is the perfect blend of youth and experience and they have backed each other through and through in the journey. “We did not let defeats impact us. We know that every day will not be good for us in sport. Every bad day was followed by something good because we put in the hard yards, and finally, we have been rewarded”, said Ashwini.
So, how did it feel like to know that they were going to represent India in Paris?
Tanisha paused for a moment before saying that she was still getting goosebumps. “Playing in the Olympics is a dream for any athlete. To see that dream come true is surreal,” she said.
“But it doesn’t end there. Now is the time to push ourselves to the limit. We’ll prepare the best we can in the next three months to make sure that we surpass ourselves in Paris,” she added.
Ashwini was more composed.
“You don’t think of medals when you start on a journey like this. We just want to do one thing. Play a kind of badminton that we are proud of. Play the best we ever have, and if that happens, a medal is also a possibility,” she said. “We will work with our coaches to get everything perfect. Now that we have qualified, that’s the only thing we will do.”
The Olympics is never about being the best. Instead, it’s about being the best in absorbing the pressure. Ashwini and Tanisha are both aware of this. They want to stay in the moment and not think too far ahead.
A year earlier no one believed they could make it to Paris. Now, with three months to go until the Olympics, few think they can make it to the podium. They have already proven the critics wrong once. Now comes the harder part.
