Shuttler Gauravi's inner voice takes her to another Deaflympics

05.04.2017
PUNE: Seven years ago, when Pune shuttler Gauravi Wamburkar was 13, she got a chance to play with Saina Nehwal in Bengaluru.

Those five minutes were enough for Gauravi, who suffers from hearing problem since birth, to make badminton her top-most priority.

Last year, the Indian ace badminton player once again motivated the Pune girl, this time with recovering from injury.

Gauravi who was going strong with her game, got her knees operated in 2015 and 2016. When she was low on morale, she saw her idol making a strong comeback despite undergoing a knee operation.

Gauravi, 20, will get the honour of representing India at the 23rd Summer Deaflympics to be held in Samsun, Turkey, from July 18. This will be her second successive participation in the quadrennial event. In 2013, she had reached the quarterfinals.

"But this time I want to come back with a medal. I had no idea of Olympics pressure when I went there in 2013. But this time I know what to expect," said the second year BCA student of Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC).

"I got my knees operated, but I had a strong rehabilitation programme. I also started training at NKBA, which has helped me improve my game," said the shuttler, who trains at former Olympian Nikhil Kanetkar's academy in Balewadi.

Gauravi was selected to represent the country at the Deaflympics after she won two gold (women's doubles and mixed doubles) and a silver in the singles category at the 21st National Games for deaf in Chennai last week.

In the singles of her section, she is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the country. She is ranked 34th in the world ranking.

The Only child of businessman Jayant and dance teacher Abha, Gauravi feels she is blessed to have people around her who don't make her realise about her condition.

But as a child, she had to go through a lot of teasing by kids in school. "I used to get teased as I couldn't hear properly and my speech wasn't clear. I used to feel bad but I used to divert my mood by hitting the court. That helped me set challenges for myself," said the Gauravi, who took up the sport at age five.

She idolises Rajeev Bagga who had not only won the National title in the open section but had also reached the main draw of All-England championship. She wants to replicate the glory of Bagga, now the British citizen, who won multiple Deaflympics gold medals for India.

"I met Rajeev sir at the 2013 Deaflympics. He is such an inspiration and I want to play like he did," said Gauravi.

That would be a tall order. But she will at least try to stand taller than the odds and will continue to draw strength from her inner voice.