Guwahati’s young badminton player, Ashmita Chaliha, strides across two opposing worlds — the academic and the athletic. Balancing her passion for sports and with her regular schooling, this young player fits the face of an icon for the new generation.
Born and brought up in Guwahati, Ashmita did her schooling from Maria’s Public School, Guwahati, till the 10th standard. She is currently pursuing her higher secondary from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and will appear for her 12th board exams in March 2018. Apart from sports and academics, Ashmita is an outgoing person who loves to travel, listen to music and spend time on social media.
This young prodigy started playing badminton at the early age of six and has been thoroughly engaged in training and practice ever since. Talking to G Plus about the importance of sports in her life, Ashmita said, “Sports are an integral part of my life and I just can’t do without it. Although I play badminton for a career, it also helps me relax and unwind.”
Ashmita, who started playing badminton out of passion, decided to pursue it as a career when she started winning tournaments in the state and national levels. It was then that a sense of professionalism set in. But she did face a lot of challenges and obstacles in her journey. “I had to face quite a lot of difficulties while choosing my sport as a profession as it attracted heavy expenses in travelling as well as in participating in tournaments. Moreover, due to my practice and the tournaments, I had little time to concentrate on studies. Since I got very little support from sports organizations or the government, my parents had to manage everything on their own,” she recalled.
Even now, she finds difficulty in balancing academics along with her passion for badminton. But she catches up on her studies in between the tournaments and travelling and her dedication keeps her going.
Ashmita informed G Plus about the common challenges faced by the people from Assam who want to pursue a career in the field of sports and said, “The biggest challenge of being a sportsperson in Assam is that most people here do not perceive sports as a career option since more focus is given on studies. Often, we see brilliant players sacrificing sports for the sake of academics.”
“Moving on to sports, I did face a lot of difficulties in the beginning of my career as I did not get any financial support from the state. And although we had coaches, there was hardly any exposure for trainings. However, things have improved now. We have coaches coming from Indonesia in the Assam Badminton Academy where I am presently practicing,” she added.
Having participated in and won many national as well as international championships, Ashmita says that representing her land at such platforms gives her utmost pleasure. “It is an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment to have represented and brought laurels to the state/country,” she said.
Ashmita has accomplished a lot in a very short span of time. This year, she participated in and won many tournaments, including the 42nd Junior National Badminton Championship where she won a silver medal in the junior mixed team, Inter State Badminton Championship (North East Zone) where she won the first position in the Women’s Singles event, All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament where she secured the second runner-up in the U-19 Girls' Singles category, and the 1st South Asian Regional Badminton Tournament held in Guwahati where she was declared the winner of the mixed team event. She also participated in the BWF World Junior Championship 2017 in Indonesia where she represented India.
Currently, Ashmita is really excited about the upcoming Premier Badminton League (PBL) to be held in Guwahati. She also wishes to represent her country at the Olympics in the near future.
Talking about her inspiration, Ashmita told G Plus, “I idealize Lee Chong Wei for his noteworthy career in badminton. His remarkable game has given me inspiration and passion for the game. Apart from him, my father is my biggest inspiration in life. His innumerable sacrifices, along with his constant dedication and unwavering faith in me, have always been my driving force.”
She also pointed out that her mother and sister have always encouraged her to do better and have played the role of critics in her life, pointing out her weak points to bring perfection of out her.
Her only advice to the people of Assam who aspire to do big in the field of sports is, “Take up sports as a career in life if you want to pursue your true calling because there is no better feeling than being an asset to your country and bringing laurels to it, thereby gaining respect and recognition.”
