Reshma: Bird game to flying

BANGALORE: Reshma Karthik, the 14-year-old Bethany High School student is the latest champion of the Suresh Kumar memorial state-ranking badminton tournament.What made her to take up badminton? “Well, I started playing badminton when I was 7-years-old and just like as a hobby and later on my interest grew. As I know badminton encourages both men and women and has a lot of variations, where in few other games, the same things happen. In badminton anyone can invent their own styles, strokes, serve and so on.” “Badminton is the game which gets over in a short period of time and keeps the players fit and fine. So it appealed a lot to me and that’s why I took to it more seriously,” Reshma pointed out.Asked about her practice, Reshma said that it needs a lot of hard work and concentration.“I practice twice a day morning from 5:30 to 7:00 and in the evening from 3:15 to 4:45 and I do follow what ever the coach tells me.“I am very luckily I got B N Sudhakar sir as my coach who teaches in an extraordinary way,” Reshma said.“Because of my coach I have been able to make dramatic changes in my performance and I have improved a lot,” she added.But how does she manage her studies and sports? “It’s simple. I treat them differently and I don’t mix the routines. As I said before, I practice twice a day and rest of the time from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, I keep for my studies,” Reshma said.What are aims and ambitions? “I want to complete my schooling first and then I want to become an Aeronautical Engineer. I want to represent India in badminton and that is my goal. Right now I am aiming towards the nationals which is going to be held in Bangalore in next month.Other than this, I am a music freak too and like to hang out with friends,” said Reshma.Who is her inspiration? “I am inspired by cricketer Rahul Dravid always because of his sober nature. The way he carries himself even in tough times is worth emulating,” said Reshma.