China open: Without coach or sponsor, young Malvika fighting a lone battle

Malvika Bansod is smashing her way to glory, becoming only the third Indian shuttler after PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal to reach the quarterfinals of the China Open, in Changzhou on Thursday.

She cruised into her maiden Super 1000 quarterfinal after eking out a hard-fought victory against world No. 25 Kristy Gilmour. On Wednesday, the Nagpur girl pulled off a sensational straight-game victory over world No. 7 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia, a Paris Olympics bronze medallist.

“I am really happy with the way I have been performing for the past four days. I wish to continue the same in the future as well,” said an elated Malvika on the phone from Changzhou. “It’s a dream of every player to be in the top-8 of such a big tournament, and I’ve made it. It’s a great feeling,” the 23-year-old, who is travelling without a coach, added.

The left-handed shuttler, who is a B Tech graduate, is the lone Indian left in the field after compatriots Aakarshi Kashyap and Samiya Imad Farooqui exited in the first round.

“Playing at this court has been a real challenge for me because one side is slow and the other one is really fast, but I’m glad that everything is falling in place for me,” she added. Malvika must now raise her game even further — blocking her way to the semifinals is two-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan. Malvika has lost both matches they’ve played in the past, she put up a great fight against the Japanese star in their last encounter.

Her major hurdles

Malvika caught everyone’s attention when she beat Saina at the 2022 India Open, but she would not be very happy with her progress as a player over the last few years. Malvika’s progress was hampered by health problems as she contracted dengue and typhoid after last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games.

The fighter in her and her indomitable spirit made Malvika rise again. She has been in good form this year, claiming the Azerbaijan International title and winning a bronze at the US Open.

While she has proved herself time and again, she is yet to gain the confidence of sponsors or the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). She has played close matches against the likes of Akane Yamaguchi and former world champion Nozomi Okuhara.

Strangely, though she has been in good form and her major losses have been in three games in the last one year, sponsors and officials have not been impressed.This has served as a hurdle in her participation in the biggest tournaments and in getting financial support in the absence of TOPS funding.

“We fail to understand for how long she will have to prove herself. But she has always been on target despite being under the weight of expectations, performing consistently,” Malvika’s mother Trupti Bansod says, adding: “She has all reasons to feel demotivated.

However, Malvika has not let her game get affected by such instances and with her current form, she’s making the authorities sit up and recognise her talent.

A sincere & quiet kid

Malvika, who was a sincere, quiet student and academically bright, stays away from social media to focus on her game and studies. When she was a child, her dentist parents had asked Malvika to choose a ‘simple’ for her undergraduate studies, but her fascination with science subjects made her opt to be an engineer. “Malvika is mentally very strong. Her strength is God-gifted and she loves taking on the challenge of juggling studies and badminton. This mental strength also helps her to win matches and stay in high spirits,” her mother said.