NEW DELHI: Clifford Crasto left his 15-year-old daughter Tanisha at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad six summers ago, expecting the academy would help her realize her budding badminton ambitions while being far from home in Dubai.
For Tanisha, who was born in Dubai, it was a shift in culture. She overcame it, though, and she and her senior women’s doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa will now represent India at the Olympics in Paris.
Although there is no manual for raising an Olympian, parenting is a journey fraught with hardship and mental turmoil. Nonetheless, parents must make tough choices if they want to see their kids succeed in life and athletics.
“I took her to India on her birthday. It was a very brave decision, an emotional decision to leave her alone in a different country,” the Goa-born Clifford, who shifted base to work in Dubai, told PTI over phone.
“She was born and brought up in Dubai. So, it was hard for both of us. But we knew that she had taken the right path and we supported her. We are happy with that decision and happy with where she has reached now,” he said.
Tanisha demonstrated early potential and became well-known among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.
Before being the youngest singles winner at the UAE Open at the age of 14, she represented Bahrain and won the women’s doubles title at the 2016 Bahrain International Challenge.
Subsequently, Tanisha made the decision to participate in India. Starting in 2017, she represented Goa and won numerous junior and senior national titles.
After eighteen years of employment with Intel distributors in Dubai, Clifford was forced to quit to go with Tanisha to competitions.
“It was quite tough for me. I had to travel with her for national, state and international tournaments.
“I would not get so many leaves as she was playing around 25-30 tournaments in a year. So, I had to quit my job,” said the Margao-born Clifford.
Clifford and his family will be seeing Tanisha from the stands; they have already purchased their tickets to Paris.
Tanisha will be competing in the women’s doubles division, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be spearheading India’s men’s doubles gold rush.
Satwik’s father, Kasi Vishwanatham, managed to establish a cozy and familiar environment at his Hyderabad training base prior to their Paris departure, so that his son would feel at ease before the big day.
“Before every big tournament like the Asian Games and world championships, we try to stay for a few days with him in Hyderabad.
“His mother (teacher) took a break from work and was here (in Hyderabad) for three weeks now,” Vishwanatham, a retired physical education teacher, said.
Satwik’s older brother Ramcharan will be in the City of Lights, but his parents won’t be visiting.
When Satwik advanced to the U-15 men’s doubles final of the Nani Prasad Memorial tournament in Hyderabad, chief national coach Pullela Gopichand noticed him.
“Gopichand told me that we need a men’s doubles player for India’s team championships,” said Vishwanatham, a state level player and international umpire, who officiated during the 2009 World Championships at Hyderabad.
“It was tough financially for the first few years but my friends and family supported me and once he did well at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there was no looking back,” he recalled.
At the 2018 CWG, Satwik and Chirag took home the silver in men’s doubles. Additionally, Satwik was instrumental in India’s first-ever gold medal at the Gold Coast mixed team championships.
At Birmingham’s 2022 CWG, the pair improved that doubles silver with a debut gold. They are now strong favorites to win the gold medal in the Paris Olympics.
Despite winning two of the three group matches, they did not advance past the first round of the Olympics in Tokyo, despite their strong performance.
“He was quite sad after the Tokyo Games because they had done well and had beaten the gold medallist pair. But according to rules they couldn’t make it (knockouts),” said Vishwanatham.
“He is not someone who gets too low after a loss. He is pretty honest in his assessment about the reason behind the defeat. Whenever he calls me after a loss, he would point out how they lost, and where the opponents played better,” he added.
DK Sen is not quite the same here. In contrast to other parents who often assist their kids off the field, Sen, who serves as Lakshya’s co-coach, has personally witnessed his improvement.
Lakshya and Chirag, Sen’s kids, are both international badminton players. Sen taught them the ropes at the SAI Almora Centre before the two of them joined the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru.
Lakshya had a difficult time qualifying for the Olympics because, at the start of the year, he dropped out of the ranks.
However, two semifinal appearances at the French Open and All England helped him guarantee a position in Paris.
“After he lost in All England, I spoke to Prakash (Padukone) sir that if we could add a drill in his training where we can make him play those crucial final points in a way that he gets one point for every three points at a stretch,” Sen said.
“This strengthens the mental aspect, so we have planned such situations during the training ahead of the Olympics,” he said.
For Tanisha, who was born in Dubai, it was a shift in culture. She overcame it, though, and she and her senior women’s doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa will now represent India at the Olympics in Paris.
Although there is no manual for raising an Olympian, parenting is a journey fraught with hardship and mental turmoil. Nonetheless, parents must make tough choices if they want to see their kids succeed in life and athletics.
“I took her to India on her birthday. It was a very brave decision, an emotional decision to leave her alone in a different country,” the Goa-born Clifford, who shifted base to work in Dubai, told PTI over phone.
“She was born and brought up in Dubai. So, it was hard for both of us. But we knew that she had taken the right path and we supported her. We are happy with that decision and happy with where she has reached now,” he said.
Tanisha demonstrated early potential and became well-known among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.
Before being the youngest singles winner at the UAE Open at the age of 14, she represented Bahrain and won the women’s doubles title at the 2016 Bahrain International Challenge.
Subsequently, Tanisha made the decision to participate in India. Starting in 2017, she represented Goa and won numerous junior and senior national titles.
After eighteen years of employment with Intel distributors in Dubai, Clifford was forced to quit to go with Tanisha to competitions.
“It was quite tough for me. I had to travel with her for national, state and international tournaments.
“I would not get so many leaves as she was playing around 25-30 tournaments in a year. So, I had to quit my job,” said the Margao-born Clifford.
Clifford and his family will be seeing Tanisha from the stands; they have already purchased their tickets to Paris.
Tanisha will be competing in the women’s doubles division, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will be spearheading India’s men’s doubles gold rush.
Satwik’s father, Kasi Vishwanatham, managed to establish a cozy and familiar environment at his Hyderabad training base prior to their Paris departure, so that his son would feel at ease before the big day.
“Before every big tournament like the Asian Games and world championships, we try to stay for a few days with him in Hyderabad.
“His mother (teacher) took a break from work and was here (in Hyderabad) for three weeks now,” Vishwanatham, a retired physical education teacher, said.
Satwik’s older brother Ramcharan will be in the City of Lights, but his parents won’t be visiting.
When Satwik advanced to the U-15 men’s doubles final of the Nani Prasad Memorial tournament in Hyderabad, chief national coach Pullela Gopichand noticed him.
“Gopichand told me that we need a men’s doubles player for India’s team championships,” said Vishwanatham, a state level player and international umpire, who officiated during the 2009 World Championships at Hyderabad.
“It was tough financially for the first few years but my friends and family supported me and once he did well at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there was no looking back,” he recalled.
At the 2018 CWG, Satwik and Chirag took home the silver in men’s doubles. Additionally, Satwik was instrumental in India’s first-ever gold medal at the Gold Coast mixed team championships.
At Birmingham’s 2022 CWG, the pair improved that doubles silver with a debut gold. They are now strong favorites to win the gold medal in the Paris Olympics.
Despite winning two of the three group matches, they did not advance past the first round of the Olympics in Tokyo, despite their strong performance.
“He was quite sad after the Tokyo Games because they had done well and had beaten the gold medallist pair. But according to rules they couldn’t make it (knockouts),” said Vishwanatham.
“He is not someone who gets too low after a loss. He is pretty honest in his assessment about the reason behind the defeat. Whenever he calls me after a loss, he would point out how they lost, and where the opponents played better,” he added.
DK Sen is not quite the same here. In contrast to other parents who often assist their kids off the field, Sen, who serves as Lakshya’s co-coach, has personally witnessed his improvement.
Lakshya and Chirag, Sen’s kids, are both international badminton players. Sen taught them the ropes at the SAI Almora Centre before the two of them joined the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru.
Lakshya had a difficult time qualifying for the Olympics because, at the start of the year, he dropped out of the ranks.
However, two semifinal appearances at the French Open and All England helped him guarantee a position in Paris.
“After he lost in All England, I spoke to Prakash (Padukone) sir that if we could add a drill in his training where we can make him play those crucial final points in a way that he gets one point for every three points at a stretch,” Sen said.
“This strengthens the mental aspect, so we have planned such situations during the training ahead of the Olympics,” he said.