Nazrin, 16, goes effortlessly from a football goal to a badminton court

Nazrin Farza used to listen to her father Rafeek Mohammad talk a lot as a youngster about his time as a goalie for Reserve Bank of India and then Mohammedan Sporting FC. She first trained as a goalkeeper before switching to badminton since Rafeek, who participated in the 2003 Federation Cup final over Mahindra United, wanted his only child to be a football goalkeeper.

She awaited her father’s call after his meetings on Friday after the 16-year-old from Kerala defeated Pratishtha Rana of Rajasthan 15-4, 15-9 to advance to the U-19 category’s third qualification round of the 29th Yonex-Sunrise Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Selection Tournament at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex.

“I chose to become a goalie because I was up hearing and reading about my father’s success as a goalkeeper at the national level. After more than five years of playing for Ananthapuri Football Club, my father started forcing me to play tennis, swimming, and badminton. He assured me that he would support me no matter what when we chose to move to badminton, and he asks me to inform him anytime I win a match whether he is attending bank meetings or not, according to Nazrin.

Before Nazrin entered the TOSS Academy and decided to concentrate on badminton, her mother Seema Refeek often drop her off to the Ananthapuri Football Club during her early years as a player.

Nazrin improved her game in the academy under the guidance of Indonesian BWF Level-1 instructor Stefanus Rendy Desmawan, who would soon crown her as district champion. Her most treasured memory is meeting Taufiq Hidayat, a former Olympic winner.

Her parents backed her despite some opposition from her relatives over the sportswear. Both football and badminton require shorts to be worn. When some of our family members suggested that I should dress in a full-length tracksuit, my father reminded them that it is up to his daughter to choose the sport she prefers.

Later, they were all sympathetic and helped me,” Nazrin added. steady advancement In 2018, the young woman competed in her maiden All-India Ranking event in the U-15 and U-17 divisions, however she was disqualified after won 3 matches.

She participated in four All-India Ranking competitions the next year, with her best performance coming in the U-15 third qualification round at the Guwahati ranking tournament, although losing to Unnati Hooda in the Trivandrum ranking event.

Nazrin participated at the senior level for the first time in 2017 and advanced to Hyderabad’s Senior Ranking Series’ fourth qualification round before falling to Sneha Rajwar. Nazrin moved to Bengaluru last year to practise at the Isports academy with coach Krishnakumar, but she contracted Covid-19 early this year, which forced her to miss some of the junior competitions.

“My mum had to accompany me when I moved from Trivandrum to Bengaluru. She would toss shuttle to me in the dining hall while I had Covid-19 so that I could move around, recalled Nazrin. She spent more than 18 months honing her skills in Trivandrum before relocating to Bengaluru, where she also studied with eight-time national doubles champion Sanave Thomas.

She started out on the court a touch slow, so I had to concentrate on improving her agility and speed. Additionally, Covid-19 caused the majority of sporting facilities to be shuttered during that period. Her parents would therefore try to reserve certain club or school courts for training. She will be able to compete against a range of players in Bengaluru, which is necessary for her to win a championship and play regularly, according to Thomas.