Target is to break into top 100 as early as possible, says 18-year-old shuttler Malvika Bansod

Bolstered by a dream debut in the senior circuit, The 18-year-old from Nagpur, young Indian shuttler Malvika Bansod is working on gaining strength and power as she aims to break into the top 100. She made a superb start to her career in the senior circuit, claiming back-to-back titles in the Maldives International on debut and followed it with another title-run at the Annapurna Nepal International Series. 

Malvika believes she needs to get “stronger, physically and mentally” to compete with players in the senior circuit who have much more experience than her.

"I would be looking to play more international series and soon I would get points to enter the international challenge. My target is to break into the top 100 as early as possible," asserted Malvika. 

She had recently shifted to train under chief junior national badminton coach Sanjay Mishra as she did not have enough sparring partners under previous coach Kiran Madore 

Besides being a fast-rising shuttler, Malvika has also done well academically. The student of Standard XII at Shivaji Science College scored 95 percent in class 10 and chose science in her higher secondary as she likes studying maths.

"But right now, badminton is the priority. I am putting in great effort and I am doing well. It was a tough choice. I took science to keep my options open," she said. 

"I idolise Lin Dan as he is also left-hander. But I have never seen him play live. He has been to India a few times. He played at the Thomas Cup and my friends had gone to see his practice sessions. I had some domestic matches and also exam so I couldn't go. Hopefully in future I will get to meet him," she concluded.