She is rated to be one of the best young badminton talent in India. And, on Sunday, the 15-year-old gifted shuttler from the city, Samiya Imad Farooqui, served a reminder of her growing stature, winning her maiden National under-19 ranking tournament in Chennai on Sunday.
“It feels great to win the first-ever title as I really worked had in extremely hot weather and it will remain a special one. Frankly, I never expected to win it but just tried to give off my best,” the articulate young champion from the city informed The Hindu on her return on Sunday evening.
The 10th standard Open school student interestingly won the ABC under-15 title two years ago but never a national-ranking event. “Yes, when I look ahead, this title is sure to spur me to achieve big. I am thankful to Gopi Sir who has been my mentor and always there to help me in giving those invaluable tips,” says Samiya. “I am privileged to see the big guns like Saina, Sindhu train in the same Academy since 2009 and sometimes they do encourage me, stressing the importance of fitness,” she said.
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A huge fan of the World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taipei, the young Hyderabad shuttler confesses that sometimes she tries to play like her idol even while acknowledging that it is never going to be easy. “Yes I see a lot of her videos, she is such a great player,” she added. Samiya also points out that she needs to work a lot more on fitness and reduce the unforced errors for better results.
Mantra for success
Her mantra for success is pretty simple - under pressure, keep the shuttle in play and minimise the errors. And, Samiya says she did exactly that in Chennai to win her maiden national title and hopes to repeat such performances in the days to come.
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And, her next big assignment is in Thiruvananthapuram - All India ranking championship this month-end. This young girl will be flying back from the city within two days and is not deterred by the hectic schedule.