2022 is going to be a great year as we are coming out of COVID and life is moving towards  a ‘new’ normal. Luckily, I got an opportunity to return to the badminton court late last year. My skills were a bit rusty as I did not get a chance to play during lockdown. I started my training last September and worked more hours as I had to make up the time I had lost. 

Towards the end of the last year, I managed to play quite a few tournaments, one of which was the Berkshire Senior Restricted. This tournament is open to anyone of any age, born or living in Berkshire. In this tournament I played women’s singles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. I won singles and received a rolling trophy which has the names of people who had won since 1968. I also came second in the women’s doubles. This was the first time I played a senior tournament and I had a lot of fun in the tournament.

In November and December, I competed in the English National Championships. I played in the U15, U17 and U19 English Nationals Championships. In the U15 Nationals I reached the quarter finals in girls’ singles and girls’ doubles. In the U17 and U19 Nationals I reached pre-quarter finals in girls’ singles. Overall I enjoyed playing in the English National Championships and I felt that I played better than before. 

After Nationals finished I played in the English Counties Champion of Championships Tournament. This tournament is only eligible for players who won any event in their respective Counties Senior tournament. I only managed to win one of my games but the experience was good because I got an opportunity to play with adults across England.

I represent Berkshire county in U16, U18 and Senior teams. All these wins helped to improve my national ranking to 4th from 9th.  However for me, badminton is not about winning, it is about keeping the focus, working hard and giving my best. I am looking forward to training and playing more in the coming months.

Tranthini