Here's all you need to know about badminton prodigy Ashmita Chaliha

She currentlly holds the no.84 position in the BWF World Rankings.

India are one of the strongest teams in the world of badminton. In recent years, the astonishing achievements of many star Indian shuttlers have made them people’s favourites. There's no doubt that the country has made its mark in the world of badminton, with some impressive players like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi and so on. From Saina’s bronze at the London Olympics to Sindhu’s World Championships gold in 2019, Indian badminton has achieved a lot of accolades.

In the women’s singles, former world champion PV Sindhu has been the only one performing and winning major tournaments alongside Saina Nehwal, who has been struggling with injuries for the past two years.

However, it doesn’t seem that the reign of Indian women shuttlers will come to an end so soon. As the country prepares young players for the big stage, there is a starlet who is smashing her opponents with her own brand of badminton. She is none other than Ashmita Chaliha.

Major achievements & appearances

The World No. 84 made headlines at the India Open 2022 after causing a major upset against fifth seed Russian Evgeniya Kosetskaya. Ashmita Chaliha won her first senior international tournament at the Dubai International Challenge in 2018. In the same year, she was also selected for the Indian team bound for the Asian Games in Indonesia.

She finished at the top of the podium at the South Asian Games 2019, in both the team and individual events. In the latter, she defeated her compatriot Gayatri Gopichand in the final. She was also selected for the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2022. The Guwahati-born southpaw has been as high as No. 68 in the world and was also the No. 1 in the national junior rankings.

Early days & training

Ashmita Chaliha was born and brought up in Assam and started playing badminton at the age of seven. She found the guidance of the Indonesian coach Edwin Iriawan and also the Indian Suranjan Bhobora. She even got the chance to be coached by Pullela Gopichand, which was a great opportunity for her. Her varied coaching has also added to her game in the past couple of years.

How her game is a blend of different tactics.

Ashmita Chaliha is famous for her aggressive jump smash and attacking play, which outmaneuvers her opponents. Her controlled aggression reveals the stability of her game, as she doesn’t seem to stick to a single mode of play i.e. neither being too defensive nor too attacking. Her never-say-die spirit is one of her lethal weapons to outshine her opponents. The lanky shuttler is a perfect blend of aggression and patience. She plays for North Eastern Warriors in the Premier Badminton League.

Many young Indian players such as Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap and Gayatri Gopichand may be handed the baton in the near future for their team. But, Ashmita Chaliha is undoubtedly one of the promising players in the women’s singles discipline for India. Having achieved some major feats at a young age, she could be the rising star for the country.

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