Meet the 2 senior women who went from playing badminton in colony park to winning silver

Hyderabad: Two senior citizens from Vayupuri, Secunderabad, 71-year-old Shyamola Khanna and 72-year-old Nandini Nagarajan, who played badminton at their colony park for the last four years reached the semi-finals and bagged silver at the Yonex-Sunrise All India Masters Ranking Badminton Tournament 2023 at Udaipur, Rajasthan that was held from 17 to 24 January.

“I started playing badminton when I went to college. My teammate and I both played in inter-collegiate tournaments back in the day. We got together because our colony had built a badminton court. That’s how we met and started playing,” said Nandini Nagarajan.

“A gentleman in our colony, Mr. Prakash Ramappa, a serious sportsperson who has been playing and winning at the world masters told us about this tournament. He encouraged us and asked us to take part in it. We obliged because we love playing badminton and have been playing for fun for over two years,” she said when asked about how they heard of the tournament.

When asked about their experience, Nagarajan said, “People from different walks of life come together in sports and fulfill their hobby of playing. We met people just like us who were doing this to enjoy the experience. Discipline and commitment are all part of the experience.” Shyamola Khanna added that while it was a serious event, they didn’t shy away from having some fun. “We were in the limelight and it felt like a good kind of strange. We reached there to play our very first match and Nandini was told by the referee that she couldn’t play in full track pants. Nandini’s reaction to this was to roll her pants right above her knees. I was so tickled by this and the referee had nothing to say,” she said.

On being asked what was the first thing they did after their win, they replied, “Indulged in a club sandwich and Vadilal Matka Kulfi. We were tired of following a diet and eating khichadi for the last few days, we deserved it.”

Shyamola Khanna reached the singles semi-finals and won bronze, while the duo reached the finals and won a silver, both in the over 70 category.

People of all age groups appreciate the game of badminton. It is an excellent game that demands meticulous physical activity that helps you stay fit and is quite enjoyable too. It is a sport where you can exercise both the body and the mind. An hour of playing the sport can help burn 480 calories.