Malvika Bansod: I would like to imbibe Saina Nehwal’s toughness

Shuttler Malvika Bansod recently had a silver finish to her credit as she debuted in the World Tour Super 300 badminton tournament. She defeated the former world no. 1 and 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, Saina Nehwal, at the recent India Open.

The 20-year-old became the second Indian to defeat the Olympian in any international tournament since 2017. Yet, Bansod is calm, and she says this trait comes as a by-product of her love for reading autobiographies.

“I can devour any reading material. I have read autobiographies of many great sporting legends, such as Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal, Sachin [Tendulkar], MS Dhoni and Usain Bolt. All of these have been very inspiring. They have fought [their own] battles and there’s a lot to learn from each one of them,” shares the Nagpur-born athlete, who feels Chak De! India (2007) is the one of the best sports movies ever made.

Such is her mental strength that competing against top players such as PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal isn’t a “pressure” for her. “I just love challenges. It’s a challenge to keep moving forward in the tough competitions that we face in the international circuit. I like to do as good as I can in that. Both (Sindhu and Nehwal) are legends and have achieved a lot for our nation, and that can’t happen without being mentally strong. My idol Saina (Nehwal) has battled injuries and rough patches in her life to reach this level. I would definitely like to imbibe that from her, as without toughness you cannot perform at an elite level,” says the athlete, who is all set to lead the women’s squad in the Badminton Asia Team Championships that will be played at Shah Alam, Malaysia, later this month.

Her tryst with sports began with her mother wanting her to have a “healthy lifestyle” and since then, there has been no looking back. “We chose badminton because my grandfather was both a tennis and a badminton player,” she says.

With no break for the last seven years, the lockdown during the pandemic helped her rejuvenate herself. She shares: “You’re constantly competing at the elite level. It’s very necessary to be in form. It’s my aim to keep enhancing myself, play much better and win a lot. My ranking is world no 61 right now. I want to keep improving!”

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