All of 15, Gayatri Pullela Gopichand is like a kid in a candy store at this Asian Games. Part of India's star-studded badminton contingent here, thanks to a fine showing in her first two senior ranking tournaments back home, which also served as selection events for these Games, Gayatri is relishing every moment at her first Asian Games.
"It's been really nice here to stay with the senior players and interact with them. I'm enjoying myself," Gayatri, India's No. 1 U-17 player, told mid-day here yesterday.

The teenager has an infectious smile and is soft-spoken just like her father. However, talk about Gopichand's strict nature and that smile vanishes in an instant. "He is very strict with everyone, even me, when on court. However, off the court, he is very nice. We laugh a lot together," said Gayatri. Her mother, PV Laxmi, a fine former shuttler herself, is firm too. "Mom is strict off the court," she said with a laugh. Badminton began for Gayatri almost by default. "I used to go with dad for matches and that's how I started. Then, I slowly took a liking to it and began playing it seriously," she said.