This Teen Badminton Star's Dad Gave Up His Job For Her, Now She Is Bringing Home Laurels

A 14-year-old badminton player defeated Smit Toshniwal, who is 21, at the Odisha Open 2022 women's singles title, held at Cuttack recently. This win made Unnati Hooda the youngest Indian to win a BWF Super 100 Tournament. It's not been long since she made her debut on the senior international circuit, which was October last year, and now she is busy making history.

Hailing from Rohtak in Haryana, Hooda put up a deft performance against her competitor. She beat Toshniwal in 35 minutes and won the title. Hooda ranks No. 418 in the world while Toshniwal is at No. 163. Hooda had a face-off in the finals with Toshniwal after defeating Malvika Bansod, who was the tournament's favourite, in the semi-finals.

After her win, Hooda said, "I got a chance to play against senior players and learn a lot through this tournament, so I am really happy about it. While I'm excited about the win I am also grateful for the learning experience that I'm taking back from the entire tournament."

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In an interview with the news agency, ANI, her father Upkar Hooda said, "I had quit my job to support my daughter for playing Badminton. This sport is dominated by South Indian players but she is now confident to beat them"

But this is not an overnight victory. The success is a payoff of her hard work, perseverance and her father's sacrifice over the last many years. In an interview with the Hindustan Times, she said she started playing the game at the age of seven and was encouraged by her parents. The earliest memory she has with her racket is playing on the street with her father.

Expressing joy and pride on her win, Unnati's father Upkar Hooda recounted how his own childhood experiences drove him to encourage his daughter to pursue sports. He said that his father was a professor and encouraged him to study but he loved sports. He used to barely get an hour to exhaust himself in a game of his liking but when he became father, he ensure one thing- to let his children play sports and encourage them.

Unnati Hooda Badminton Player

Her name Unnati means progress in English. The reason why her parents named her so was to tag positive and energetic rings to their daughter. Recently, she stood up to her name and became the youngest Indian to win BWF Super 100 Tournament.

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Unnati currently studies in ninth grade and her introduction to badminton was not in a fancy court but like most of India, on an empty street. She started playing at the age of seven with her father. But it was not only badminton that had her attention. She indulged in all kinds of sports from the streets to the parks. Some of her early interests included football and basketball, along with badminton.

"When my father saw my interest in the sport, he took me to an academy in Rohtak for specialised training. I was eight years old then," said Hooda. She then started her training under coach Parvesh Kumar.

Unnati practised at least five hours in the morning and evening every day and added one or two hours extra in the afternoon, on days when she had no classes. Her idols are PV Sindhu and she dreams of winning a medal at the Olympics one day.

For now, she is taking one step a day and focusing on her sport. Even her father said that he wishes she enjoys the sport and does not care about the results. "I am sure if she loves playing, it will automatically reflect on the result," he said.