She might have lost the first round match of the French Open Super 750, but Olympics dream still lives on for Tanisha Crasto. But the job is not done yet, it has just begun. After a splendid 2023 year, the young Indian shuttler is hungry for more, and she is just getting started. In an exclusive interview with InsideSport, Tanisha Crasto reveals her plans and ambitions for the Paris Olympics 2024.
The year 2023 has been majestic for the 20-year-old. 4 Super Hundred titles with Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha is eager for more laurels. “We complement each other very well,” she told InsideSport. Crasto claims that Ashwini serves as her friend as well as her mentor owing to her age and experience.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Indian shuttle pair. The duo lost earlier, but Tanisha claims that the loses weren’t mere loses but rather learnings which led them to fair well in the later tournaments.
“We’ve only moved onwards and upwards. I wouldn’t say those were losses. But I feel like those are learnings. We’ve come back and spoken about things we need to work on. And then we did better in the next tournament. And towards the end, yes, we did have wonderful results,” Crasto said.
Race For Paris Olympics 2024
Arguably, Paris Olympics is the greatest sports event that will take place in the calendar year. Despite a loss earlier in the Badminton Asia Championships, and now in the French Open, both Crasto and Ponnappa are en route to make it to the Olympics.
However, Tanisha isn’t much bothered about the mega event. In fact she is keen to perform well in the prior tournaments. She made a comeback in the Europe tour after a slight ankle niggle which forced her to miss the Badminton Asia Championships. Now the loss in the French Open won’t be much of a bother given it has nothing to do with the Olympics Qualifiers.
“I’m really happy that we are in the race to Olympics. But I still feel like Olympics is still a long way to go. There’s still foresight on events before Olympics. And it’s very important to play well in these tournaments. My main focus is the coming tournaments and just give my best. If Olympics is really written for me – what’s meant for me will come my way,” the youngster added.
“I know that there are expectations from us right now since we are the first pair of India for the Olympics. But if I start thinking about the expectations, then I wouldn’t even be able to play badminton. Now I just want to focus on the game and give my 100%. I am sure results will follow,” she told this website.
Healthy Rivalry – Indian Badminton’s Biggest Benefit
Friends off the field, rivals on court and most importantly practice partners. India currently boasts of having 2 women’s badminton pairs who are at a world-class level. Teressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand is another formidable duo who are friends yet strong competitors for Crasto-Ponnappa pair.
Earlier in the finals of the Thailand Masters, it was Jolly and Gopichand who emerged victorious as did in the first clash of the French Open. Reflecting on the healthy competition, she claimed that it India who benefits from having 2 great badminton pairs.
“There’s a healthy competition. I think it’s great having another pair. And the fact that India has 2 good women’s pairs itself is a great achievement. Just because they defeated us means something’s different. We will equally defeated in prior tournaments and this will keep going,” she concluded.
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