Who is Meiraba Luwang Maisnam? Profile, style, scouting report of India's next badminton star

Published at :May 25, 2024 at 7:09 PM

Modified at :May 25, 2024 at 7:09 PM

(Courtesy : meiraba466/Instagram)

Meiraba Luwang Maisnam upset India’s no.1 HS Prannoy at Thailand Open 2024

Meiraba Luwang Maisnam, the Manipuri ace shuttler, has been competing since 2020 but has faced inconsistency throughout his transition period. He was ranked Junior WR2 and was once considered as prodigious as Lakshya Sen.

He had a significant start in the senior section, reaching a career-high of WR53 in January 2023. However, later in the year, he experienced a rough patch. In 2023, he played more than 20 tournaments in the circuit and did not win a match in 11 of them. He later finished as runner-up at the India Senior Ranking tournament.

The year 2024 seems like a ray of hope for the 21-year-old. He has beaten India’s No.1 HS Prannoy at the Thailand Open and reached the quarterfinals of the Super 500 tournament. Additionally, he won the Senior Ranking tournament title this year. On that note, let’s delve into the journey of the Manipuri ace shuttler.

Player details

Meiraba Luwang Maisnam, a talented shuttler from Manipur, began his journey at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy at age 11. Known for his lively personality and mimicry skills, he quickly made a mark by winning the national sub-junior title within ten months of his arrival in Bengaluru and subsequently dominated junior tournaments.

Despite his early promise, the Covid-19 pandemic profoundly impacted Meiraba, leading to a period of introspection and religious devotion. His transition to senior-level competitions proved challenging, and his international rankings plateaued. Overburdened by pressure, Meiraba struggled with restlessness and overtraining, which led him to participate in numerous low-grade tournaments without success.

Playing style

Meiraba’s natural playing style is retrieval and defense. His defense is his biggest strength. He isn’t afraid to play defensive badminton. His overall gameplay is similar to Kodai Naraoka’s in the current circuit. Meiraba has excellent tosses to keep a rally going, is agile, and can run extensively. He maintains good lengths defensively, and his underarm lifts and lobs send opponents to the back of the court.

Best ranking achieved

He achieved a career-high ranking of WR53 in January 2023. He triumphed at the Iran International 2022 and the India International 2022 helped him leap forward in the rankings. He was ranked junior world No. 2 in 2020

Best performance

Meiraba Maisnam’s best performance came at Thailand Open 2024 where he upset WR9 and India No.1 HS Prannoy in straight games 21-19, 21-18 in 55 minutes of the match. This marked his first-ever top-20 win of his career.

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