Narayan with the more than 100 medals and trohpies he has won
Badminton is the fastest racket sport known, and is as competitive and as tough as any other sport. Young champions Priyanna and Narayan Ramdhani have seemingly mastered the sport, taking home numerous medals and trophies both nationally and internationally.
Priyanna, eight, and Narayan, 12, were very intrigued by the sport because of their father, Gokarn Ramdhani, who was a national player in the 80s. Now also president of the Guyana Badminton Association and their coach, their dad would take them to practice sessions, and that’s how the love for the sport developed.
“Narayan was introduced to badminton with a shuttlecock – instead of a ball a shuttlecock is used – hanging from his musical mobile plaything, and Priyanna picked up the sport observing me. Priyanna was merely five years old and Narayan age 4 when they started competing,” he told Guyana Times Sunday Magazine in an interview along with the two.
Priyanna created badminton history in Guyana by bringing home the first medal this country has ever gained at a Pan Am tournament, after attending there for only two years.
Narayan is known as a strong player with quick movements and skilful shots. He was defeated only once in his age group category over the years, and is playing for six years in competitive badminton. They both attend Marian Academy; Priyanna is a Primary Two student and Narayan is in Form One. Narayan is a member of the Marian Badminton and Cricket Clubs; Priyanna plays for the Marian Badminton Club and practises there once a week. She is also in the dance club and loves to spend time dancing with her friends. Both gained excellent grades in their exams.
“Their grades are pretty good; school doesn’t suffer. They play three times a week, with sufficient time to do homework, and they are also involved in extracurricular activities at school. They have schedules they stick to, including time to play games with friends. They aren’t allowed to speak of badminton except on the days they practise. This ensures that other activities and their fun time with friends don’t suffer. They get to watch television and do their chores and just be kids,” said their dad.
Priyanna is noted for her “cool” attitude on the court, and one who plays the game with many directions and
Priyanna with her trophies and medals
positions of the ‘shuttle’. She can challenge any player, and always plays her best no matter the challenge or age of her competitors, who are usually older than her.
She is currently the national Under-11 and Under-13 champion, and the Caribbean’s Under-11 champion. She is also the champion for the Under-11 Pan American Championship – her most significant win in her now budding sport career.
Narayan is currently the national Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 champion, and the Caribbean Under-13 champion. They also play together or, as it is known in badminton, in the ‘mixed doubles’ competitively in other countries, and have taken home championship trophies and medals.
When asked what she thinks about when playing, Priyanna said she thinks about winning.
“It’s fun – and not hard to play; but you must practice. I play others my age, sometimes older, but when I’m playing all I think about is winning. I want to continue to play because it takes me to other countries and I get to make friends and learn about other countries and their way of playing. We have many friends we play against but it’s fun. I play against my brother also for fun but he wins most of the time,” she said smiling.
Priyanna said she wants to become a badminton star when she completes high school, and is working really hard for that to happen. She added that she loves cricket and she admires West Indies cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan for his sportsmanship.
For Narayan, it is all about his techniques such as his backhand, smashes and drops that make him a champion.
“All I think about is beating who I’m playing against. I’m not afraid of the person’s age or where they came from or which country I’m playing in; all I focus on is winning. For me I’m just playing badminton now and not thinking too much ahead of what I want to become after leaving school, but I think becoming a lawyer is on my list,” he said, smiling at his dad.
Narayan’s idol is Chinese badminton champion Lin Dan, who is known as the “bad boy” in badminton; and Narayan is quite a ‘bad boy’ in his techniques when playing the sport.
The best advice both of them received is to work hard and be their best.
“Their mom is also a part of their successes being a member of the association. Although she’s not an athlete she is very supportive and is accustomed to it being married to me an ex-badminton player. I would encourage parents to get their kids involved in sports because it makes them all rounded, keeps them fit and out of trouble. Sport has made them healthy, taken them to various countries where they learn about others and the countries’ cultures. It’s all about discipline and that is what is important in teaching the kids,” their coach said.
To date, Narayan has more than 100 trophies and medals, and Priyanna has more than 80. Their hobbies are playing cricket, football, basketball, table tennis and squash. They will be competing next year at the Pan American Championships to be held in Jamaica, where more than 26 countries will be competing.
