Mumbai teen shuttler Taarini Suri winning from court to court

Taarini Suri with her doubles, mixed doubles partners

What started as an exercise to gain exposure and experience post the Covid-19 pandemic, turned out to be a terrific outing for India's teen shuttler Taarini Suri at the Swedish Youth Games U-15 event, where she clinched the singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles crowns. What makes these wins even more special is the fact that these are the first tournaments she got to play post the pandemic. Earlier this month, she claimed three titles at the FZ FORZA Finnish Youth 2021 Badminton Championship in Finland.

In the Sweden event, Taarini, a Class IX student of JB Petit High School (Fort), registered a 21-9, 21-10 win over Sweden's Anvita Harakamani in the singles final, while she and her Swedish partner Matilda Stahle, the top-seeded pair, beat the second-seeded duo of Matilde Moesgaard and Athene Lyduch Thornild 21-16, 21-14 in the doubles final. In the mixed doubles, she partnered Fedir Tiurin of Ukraine to beat Denmark's Eline Landsvig and Frederik Hinding 21-14, 21-16 for the title.

Mumbai shuttler Taarini Suri

"I entered these tournaments just to gain exposure and experience. Because with the lockdown almost nothing was happening and it was getting frustrating in Mumbai. We were training without any motivation. So, after winning a few rounds in Finland and combining with partners I had never played before, it gave me the confidence to do well in all three categories, I gained the confidence to do well in Sweden," Taarini told www.mid-day.com from Munich.

Suri with her doubles partner Matilda Stahle of Sweden

But the wins came at a cost. The youngster had to play almost six to seven matches on the first day at both events (Finland and Sweden). "Even in Finland, the matches were scheduled the same way as Sweden - two matches in each category. On the first day, I had to play two doubles matches, two mixed doubles matches and three singles matches. And on the second day we had semi-finals of all three categories. After the semis, I was drained and felt like the energy had been sucked out of me playing back-to-back matches. But I still had the self belief and did not want to let my partners down in the doubles category. So, I could go all the way," said Taarini, who considers her coach Hufrish Nariman, 62, of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) her idol.

Meanwhile, like many, even young Taarini had her share of grief caused by Covid-19. "It was not easy for me and my family during Covid-19. I lost my grandfather. And except me and my mother, everybody in my family had Covid and we were quarantined. My coach had fixed a schedule and I would do weight training, agility training and rigorous running. The badminton courts opened after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted but the CCI courts went under renovation, so I didn't have anywhere to practise," she said.

Suri with her mixed doubles partner Fedir Tiurin from Ukraine

"After three months, she (coach Hufrish) got permission for me practise at the Cusrow Baug court and a week before my departure, she got me permission to play at Willingdon (Willingdon Sports Club at Mahalaxmi)," explained Taarini.

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