Anmol - rising badminton star who wants to become a judge

Is she the one?

Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu have brought Olympic medals and many golden moments for India and now badminton buffs are desperately searching for the young girl who could take over from these greats.

And Haryana’s Anmol Kharb looks like she has the talent to get into those famous shoes.

Anmol won the senior National title in late 2023 and early last year, she won crucial matches, beating higher-ranked players, as India clinched the women’s team title in the Asian Badminton Championships (ABC) for the first time in Malaysia.

“That ABC was a life-turning moment, it made me believe in myself,” said the 18-year-old in a chat with The Hindu after winning the National Games gold here on Tuesday.

“For a few days, I couldn’t even respond to what was happening to me because suddenly there was so much media attention. I didn’t know what to say. After some days it finally it struck me...we have created history.”

And though Anmol suffered a ligament injury last year, which sidelined her for two months, she won tournaments in Poland and Belgium.

She has now moved from Faridabad to Gopi Chand’s academy in Hyderabad to give her game a bigger push.

“My game has totally changed after going there ...earlier I was not cool and calm, if I was down, I would just end the game. But now, I’ve learned patience, learned many more things. I have more variety in my strokes and many more things,” Anmol said. “In June, I’ll complete one year.”

Her big goal is to make it to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“If I’m able to keep my body in a healthy state, if I’m able to play freely, definitely I will be one of the players to qualify for LA,” she said.

Does she feel she could be the next big thing in the sport?

“It’s not like that, it could be anyone, I don’t know who it will be ... everyone is giving their 100 per cent,” said Anmol.

But for now, she has bundled up all those thoughts and has kept them for another day.

“Right now, the most important goal is to score good grades in my 12th boards, after this gold I’ll give eight to nine hours for studying,” she said.

“I’ve taken humanities and that includes legal studies. My father is a lawyer by profession, I want to go in the same stream. If possible, I want to become a judge...I’ll give my 100 per cent to become a judge or else I’ll just practice,” she said.