Deyashi Kanjibillya was at her best at the Khelo India games

The 21-year-old badminton player from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, Deyashi Kanjibillya was on top of her game in her first Singles match of the day against Rupinder Kaur.

Representing Ranchi University in Women’s Team Badminton event at KIUG 2021 on Saturday at the Jain Sports School, Bengaluru, Karnataka, Deyashi sailed past her opponent from Lovely Professional University with a 21-18, 21-16 win. But her day was not done.

When asked to speak about her win after the match, a focused Deyashi replied, “I will speak after the doubles match.

“While waiting for her match to begin, Deyashi appeared a little restless on the side of the court, checking out the match happening on her court while talking strategies with her partner Sonali Dubey.

It took nearly an hour for Deyashi and Sonali to step out on the court again for their Doubles match against Pini Karki and Yajum Laa from the Lovely Professional University. It turned out to be a thriller.

The first game ended with Pinky and Yajum picking a 26-24 win. But Sonali and Deyashi bounced back in the next two games, and won the match 24-26, 21-15, 21-14.

“It took us some time to get adjusted to the court. And we were playing a more defensive game, but we should have been more attacking from the start of the match. We needed to be more positive. We appeared to be lacking in confidence a bit at the start,” Deyashi said, after the win.

An Accounts Hons. student at Ranchi University, Deyashi was motivated to pursue sports by her parents. While badminton is not the first choice of sport for young athletes from Jharkhand, her parents followed the sport quite intently and pushed her to try and find a footing in it.

“Once I started performing well, my interest increased in the sport and I decided to pursue it even at the university level,” Deyashi said.

The 21-year-old believes that the Khelo India University Games is giving an incentive to educational institutions across Jharkhand to develop infrastructure for the growth of badminton and other sports in the state.

She also believes there is a good talent pool of badminton players in Jharkhand, who can be unearthed if proper facilities are made to be available in the state.

“Khelo India University Games is giving an opportunity for the badminton players in Jharkhand to compete with some of the best athletes across Universities in the country. If we continue to hold KIUG and more events such as this for young athletes, then it will automatically give incentives to schools and Universities across India to develop infrastructure for sports, and more athletes can come out, not just from Jharkhand, but also from other parts of the country,” she said.

“There is a need to develop better infrastructure for badminton in Jharkhand, along with more number of good coaches to give proper training to youngsters at the grassroots level. Also, there is a need to develop more indoor courts in the state, so that the athletes can adapt to playing in proper conditions early on,” Deyashi added.

Deyashi, Sonali, and the third member of their team, Manish Rani Tirkey, believe they need to be at the top of their game to surpass the tough challenge in store.

“We will look to be more positive. We will be facing the defending champions so we will have to work hard and be mentally strong. It will not be an easy contest, but we are confident we will be prepared on the match day,” Deyashi signed off.

Now, after their memorable comeback win, Ranchi University will next face off against the defending champions Jain University in the Quarterfinal of Women’s Team Badminton.