A Yamaguchi fan, Isharani living her dream in Uber Cup

Talented shuttler Isharani Baruah made the Indian team on the back of an impressive run early this season and she proved her worth at the big stage by winning a crucial singles match in India’s comfortable 4-1 win over Canada in the Uber Cup.

On Saturday, the 20-year-old from Dibrugarh, who trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), displayed her skill sets as she used her jump drop and leaping clears to in the crucial second singles.

She notched up a 21-13, 21-12 win over higher-ranked Wen Yu Zhang to take the tie away from Canada in group A.

The Assam shuttler made it to three finals and secured two International challenge titles in Sri Lanka and The Netherlands this season.

Currently ranked 83rd in BWF world rankings, Baruah is the second highest-ranked singles player in the women’s team after statemate Ashmita Chaliha following the withdrawal of two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu.

“Till 2022, I was playing doubles as well, but Vimal (Kumar) sir said that I should only focus on singles. It is just my second season as a singles player, and I am happy I could win a few tournaments and make it to the Uber Cup team,” Baruah told PTI.

READ | Uber Cup 2024: Young Indian shuttlers outclass Canada in opener

Her on-court energy and retrieval skills coupled with deceptive jump smashes and drops, make Baruah an exciting talent.

“Vimal sir always tells me to take the shuttle up and play at a good speed and don’t be complacent as it is just the beginning for me. I want to play bigger tournaments like the super 100s, 300s and 500s now,” she says.

Baruah trains under coach Umendra Rana, who had coached London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal for a brief period after she had shifted base to Bengaluru in 2017.

Early this month, Isharani returned from Kazakhstan International with a shoulder injury and had to take it easy before starting her training for the Uber Cup.

The 20-year-old started her journey in sports in the bylanes of the northeastern state of Assam, playing cricket with boys and badminton with her neighbours, just like many others.

But when she showed sparks in the racquet sport, her father, who works as an LIC agent, decided to put her in the Dibrugarh District Sports Academy, where she spent eight years with coach Narul Hussain.

She then moved under the wings of coach Bidyut Bikash Deori, who worked on her game as the jump smashes slowly started to give her results, but it was still quite raw.

Isharani next moved to Bengaluru after coming to the city for a camp.

“I joined PPBA in 2020 after COVID. I liked the environment, the facilities, the coaches. It was hard for me as it was a different place, and staying away from my parents, the food was also different,” she says.

A fan of Akane Yamaguchi, Isharani modelled her game on her idol with all the jump smashes, on-court energy and movements.

“Yamaguchi is my role model, I just love her game. She is also not tall but makes her opponents run around the court. I watch all her matches and try to play her strokes,” she signed off.