“People only remember the gold medal winners." Anupama Upadhyaya, after winning gold at the National Games
Anupama Upadhyaya, the young Indian badminton sensation hailing from Haryana, recently won the coveted gold medal in the women’s singles event at the 37th National Games in Goa. At just 18 years of age, Anupama has already made her mark in the senior circuit by being part of the team for the Sudirman Cup and Asian Games. She is also the current national champion in the women’s singles category.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Anupama Upadhyaya spoke about her performance at the national games and also about how PV Sindhu’s advice helped her perform better.
"It was my first National Games. I have this mindset that people only remember the gold medal winners. So that's why I think that that spirit, that motivation, and that aggression helped me in that match," she said.
Upadhyaya also recalled her final match against Aditi Bhatt, whom she had lost to earlier in Hyderabad.
"I think in Hyderabad, I was not very prepared for the match. And it was a very close match, but in the national games, I was much more prepared because I had come from Asian games. I saw the level of the international top players like An Seyoung and also practiced with Sindhu Didi as well. So, I got to know that, at the international level, you can't just play slow drops and slow tosses. You have to have good speed with the shuttle as well. You need to have good strength as well,” she added.
Upadhyaya also gave an insight into the conditions at the venue and how her experience playing in international venues helped her adjust to it quickly.
“So, in these national games also, they had an international-level stadium. It was good for me because I have played in the AC and all. So, I know those conditions. So, I was from the starting only; I was very well prepared about the conditions and all, and I was playing more attacking because from one side, the shuttle was quite fast due to the drift, and from the other side, it was quite slow. So, in the starting, I took the faster side. I started playing more attacking, and I think I just wanted to win the gold medal because that's all that matters," she said.
Right before the national games, Upadhyaya was in Hangzhou for the Asian Games. She got to spend some invaluable time and also practice with two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu. In addition to this, she saw firsthand how a top player like World No. 1 An Seyoung practices. She stated that the advice she received helped her perform at the National Games.
"I was practicing with Sindhu Didi, and I was with her the whole time, and I saw other top players as well, current world number one An Seyoung from Korea. I saw her playing too. She was doing practice beside our court only. I saw how smoothly she's moving in the court,” she said.
Upadhyaya also added that she took a lot of advice from Sindhu and asked her questions, something that helped her tremendously.
"I was watching her (An Seyoung) stepping and all and how easily she's playing on the court, and I was asking Sindhu Didi how you needed to increase that kind of strength, which you have, because at the international level, you need good attacking strokes, especially the smash should be very good, and the follow-up as well. So, I asked her how to increase my strength. So, she told me that, you know, use the panhandle kind of grip when you hit smashes and all; I need good food and do more gym because if you need strength, you need to have good food plus you need to have good gym sessions as well," she added.
Coming back from Hangzhou, Upadhyaya spent a week and a half at the Badminton Association of India (BAI) training center in Guwahati before she left for Goa. She discussed everything she learned from Sindhu with her coaches and implemented all of this into her training before the national games.
“So, I think I did that a lot, and I shifted to Guwahati, the BAI center. So, I think it's a good center for me. And I think before the national games, for one and a half weeks I was there only, so I was discussing with those coaches as well that Sindhu Didi told me this and that, that I need to work on my gym and all,” she said.
Upadhyaya also added that she had received similar advice from other people too.
“I think it's more about strength only because a lot of people have told me that you have good strokes and all, but you know, you’d still need that strength to perform at the international level, at the top international level. And I think I'm working on that only right now. And I think I've seen improvement now,” she added.
"I really want to break into top 50." Anupama Upadhyaya on her aim for the next year
Anupama Upadhyaya, who is a Reliance Foundation athlete, immediately took off for Bangalore to participate in the Infosys Open India International Challenge and did not get a chance to celebrate her victory at the national games. When asked about whether she celebrated the win, she replied that her focus was the next tournament.
“No, right now I'm focusing on this tournament only because this tournament is also really important for me. Because I think I've done a lot on the domestic circuit right now. And I think I need to focus more on the international circuit. Now I need to; I really want to break into top 50 so that it's easier to play some super 100, super 300, and 500 tournaments so that I can get main draw there and I can perform and I can have good experience with the top players as well,” she said.
Upadhyaya is now focusing on the international tournaments taking place in India and hopes to break into the top 50 in the world rankings by next year.
“I'm focusing on this tournament, the Infosys Open. And I'll be playing Bahrain International Challenge and then Syed Modi. And then we have this Guwahati and Cuttack 100 super series. So I'm focusing more on the Indian circuit, basically Indian international tournaments only. I think there are a lot of tournaments, and I have a good chance to perform here and get good points and break into the top 50. So, I'm focusing on that only.” She concluded.