Sanjana fancies winning inter-school badminton title after long-time rival and champion Karishma opts out due to injury
Sanjana fancies winning inter-school badminton title after long-time rival and champion Karishma opts out due to injury
Sanjana Santosh of Jamnabai Narsee entered the quarter-finals of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) inter-school badminton tournament with an easy win over Saniya Chitnis of S Radhakrishnan School 15-2 at the North Indian Association courts yesterday.
Sanjana Santosh in full flow yesterday. Pic/Suresh KK
Sanjana, who lost to top seed Karishma Wadkar of Bai Avabai F Petit School in last year's final, wouldn't have to face her long-time rival this year as the latter pulled out due to injury. The two share an on-court rivalry since their U-10 days.u00a0
"Since I have been playing against Karishma since our U-10 days, it wouldn't have been exciting to face her again," Sanjana told MiD DAY after her fourth round victory. Sanjana, who underwent surgery for a knee injury last January, has had to claw her way back into the reckoning while contemporaries Karishma and Latika Katre dominated the inter-school circuit.
Hard work paying off
"It's been a tough six months for me (because ofu00a0 surgery). However, training tirelessly with my coach Uday Pawar is finally paying off. I am glad to bounce back like this, and hope to win the MSSA title this year," she added.
Sanjana attributed her renewed boost in confidence to her selection in the national squad for the ANA Badminton Asia Youth U-17 & U-15 Championships in Chiba (Japan).
Maiden global tourney
The shuttle ace is taking the MSSA event as a run to her maiden international tournament. "Iu00a0 desperately want to win this title, before I leave for Japan. It's been a while since I have won a singles title," said the Goregaon resident.
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