Bisht makes a comeback through comebacks

The win was the 21-year old’s maiden state title. Considering his pedigree — he is the son of Asian Games bronze medalists and multiple times national champions Madhumita and Vikram Bisht — it was long overdue. However with such illustrious badminton players as parents,hasn’t been the easiest things to handle. “I try not to think about it but at times it is difficult because people have a lot of expectations on you. My parents themselves have never put pressure on me to perform. Rather they keep telling me to focus on my own game and not think that I have to achieve something,because they have won so much,” he says.

With the title out of the way,Bisht is looking forward to the future. While his selection isn’t assured with the squad yet to be named,Bisht’s immediate goal is to peform at the North Zone tournament. His other aim is to focus on his doubles play. “I may have won the singles title but that was more of a bonus. I consider myself more of a doubles specialist. I even have a mixed doubles bronze medal (with Sanskriti Chhabra) in the junior nationals last year. At the Delhi state championships,I was partnering Bhaskar Chakravarty and we lost a very close game to the Abhinav Prakash and Utkarsh Arora who reached the finals,” he says.

Shifting base

But without too much practice options for doubles players in the capital,Bisht is considering shifting base to another city. “My only real options are Lucknow or the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. My mother is in China right now,and when she returns,I will work out where I need to go,” he says.

The Gopichand Academy is particularly enticing. “I practice three times everyday but you can’t compare it to the way the students at the Gopichand Academy train. They train for much more time and with more intensity than anywhere else in the country. So in an actual match,they are a lot more confident simply because they know that they have trained harder than any of their opponent,” he says.

The third year college student,however,is uncertain about how he will manage his studies while training in a separate city. “The Gopichand Academy is a residential academy,so there is no pressure of studying. You go to college only to write your exams. In north India,it is hard to go for tournaments because if you lose out on attendance,you won’t be allowed to write your exam,” he says.