Next Gen: Raksha Kandasamy, smashing her way to the top

A promising badminton player who sings or a budding vocalist who plays badminton? Either way, 16-year-old Raksha Kandasamy is immensely talented in two vastly different fields.

But she knows what her aim is in the long run. “My aim is to be a professional badminton player,” she tells Sportstar.

The beginning

Raksha took her initial steps in the world of badminton under the tutelage of Dipankar Bhattacharjee, a two-time Olympian and a three-time National champion.

“I trained under him for 5-6 years until the COVID lockdown happened,” says the teenager.

Bhattacharjee remembers Raksha as someone who had fun on the court as a kid. “She used to enjoy it as a child. Not only that, she could also implement changes quickly and play with the correct technique,” says the 51-year-old.

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“Naturally, she is a light-footed player,” he adds.

Raksha currently trains under coach Vikas Harsha at MK’s Badminton Academy in Hyderabad.

A steep rise

Raksha made her debut on the BWF junior circuit in Hyderabad in August last year where she bowed out in the second round. She played two more events in 2022, ending the year with a semifinal finish at the Bangladesh Junior International Series in Dhaka.

However, she could not play consistently till April this year due to her Class 10 board exams (CBSE). “I have been always good at studies. Even before I started badminton, I used to study really well. I topped my class so many times. Even after taking up the sport, I wanted to remain academically good. I try my best to manage both,” she says.

Hungry for more: If she is able to maintain this consistency, Raksha can represent the country at the BWF World Junior Championships next year. | Photo Credit: G. RAMAKRISHNA

Hungry for more: If she is able to maintain this consistency, Raksha can represent the country at the BWF World Junior Championships next year. | Photo Credit: G. RAMAKRISHNA

“Even in 10th grade, I wasn’t able to study much because I was in Jaipur for a tournament. We had so many tournaments just before the pre-boards and boards. In the last 20 days (before the exams) I studied so hard. I had to cut down a bit on my badminton training — go for two hours a day or sometimes skip sessions,” says Raksha, who passed Class 10 from Podar International School in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, scoring 95 percent.

With the exams done, she resumed her season towards the end of March in the BWF junior circuit in Israel where she reached the semis. She got her first title in Nicosia, Cyprus, and followed it up with a runner-up finish in El Campello, Spain. After two more tournaments, Raksha headed to the inaugural edition of the All England Junior Championships, held from July 27-30 in Birmingham. Seeded second, she was awarded a bye in the opening round before breezing through her round of 32 and round of 16 clashes.

It was the quarterfinal clash with USA’s Ella Lin in Birmingham that tested the teenager the most. After conceding the opener 12-21, she was a whisker away from elimination as Lin had eight match points.

However, with her tight defense and sharp court coverage, she forced the American to commit one mistake after another as Lin tried to get out of the long rallies. The Indian went on to win the match 12-21, 24-22, 21-17.

“I’m not a very strong player. I don’t have a very hard smash. I prefer to play long rallies and tend to use more slices,” says Raksha, describing her playing style.

She pulled off another major heist by saving four match points, this time in the deciding game of her hour-long semifinal against Italy’s Gianna Stiglich, which she won 21-13, 16-21, 25-23. But playing such a long match meant that she had to play the summit clash on the same day within just two hours. And that proved to be a costly factor.

Against Canada’s Jackie Dent, the top seed and an opponent two years elder, Raksha went down 21-19, 12-21, 11-21.

Training day: Raksha with her coach Vikas Harsha at MK’s Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: G. RAMAKRISHNA

The Indian managed to overcome the disappointment of that loss by winning the Bulgarian Junior Open Championship the following week.

With a win-loss record of 25-7, Raksha is World No. 9 in the BWF Junior Rankings (released on November 28). She has four more Indians for company in the top 10 — Tara Shah (3), Unnati Hooda (4), Rakshitha Sree Santhosh Ramraj (7) and Naishaa Kaur Bhatoye (8).

If she is able to maintain this consistency, Raksha can represent the country at the BWF World Junior Championships next year.

Role models

When asked about her favourite players, Raksha mentions the names of two — Tai Tzu Ying and An Seyoung. While none of them is her compatriot, both of them have dominated India’s top-ranked female shuttler P. V. Sindhu.

“Tai’s strokes and deception are extraordinary. There can’t be a player who doesn’t like her gamestyle. I can relate to An Seyoung because she is a youngster. She had a breakthrough when she was 18-19. I like her defense and perseverance throughout her matches,” she says.

Musical touch

Raksha mentions that her journey with music began even before badminton. “No one sings in my family. Singing is my passion. I started singing before I started playing badminton, around the age of 5,” she says.

Raksha, who gets her vocal training in Carnatic music from Vijayawada-based Ms Annapurna, feels music also helps her in sport. “I don’t get tense during a match. I don’t get frustrated easily as compared to other players. I don’t get nervous even in the most tense situations. Music plays an important role in my badminton career,” she says.

While Shreya Ghoshal is her all-time favourite singer, she also admires Sudha Raghunathan, SP Balasubrahmanyam and Arijit Singh.