Hard work and perseverance the key to success for Anmol Kharb and Chirag Sen Premium

Hard work and perseverance the key to success for Anmol Kharb and Chirag Sen

Anmol Kharb, all of 16 years of age, was on the verge of reaching her first final of the 85th Senior National badminton championships at the Deshbhakta Tarun Ram Phookan Indoor Stadium in Guwahati recently.

Leading 20-17 in the second game after pocketing the first against Ashmita Chaliha of Petroleum, the tournament’s second seed, Anmol was cruising along merrily.

In a sudden comeback, Asmita (24), one of the most talented players tipped to do well for India at the International level in the years to come, saved two match points.

At 20-19, the way Anmol played showed her true character. She didn’t crumble under pressure or make an unforced error in the wake of a fightback from a senior pro ranked higher than her in both domestic and International levels.

Anmol retrieved a tough drop from Ashmita and soon dominated the rally pushing the second seed to both corners of the court. And when she finished the match pushing a backhand from frontcourt to the right extreme of Ashmita, who was just a mere spectator, it signalled the arrival a player of high calibre, and one who has immense potential to achieve bigger things.

ALSO READ: National Badminton | Anmol emulates Saina; Chirag outlasts Tharun

“What Anmol has achieved (she then went on to beat 15-year-old Tanvi Sharma of Punjab in the final after the latter retired in the third game citing a sprain in the right thigh) is because of the sacrifices of her parents, father Devender Singh and mother Rajbala Kharb, and her hard-work. We at Sunrise Shuttlers Academy, Noida worked on her game and fitness. We improved her returns from the front. Though she did return well from backcourt, it was her returns from frontcourt that gave her some problems. We have sorted it out,” said Kusumm Singh, Anmol’s coach to The Hindu.