As the birdie sneaked over the net from Palo Alto’s side, a pang sound from freshman Ishir Gupta’s racket followed as he returned the shot with a netdrop to the side just inbounds. With multiple wins complimenting Gupta and his partner Avik Belenje‘s doubles win against Palo Alto on March 16, the Falcons went on to win the match 19-11.
On March 23, the team captured an 18-12 win against Monta Vista, one of the stronger teams in the league. The win brought their record to 3-2. Already they have more wins than they did last season.
The Falcons were scheduled to face off against Lynbrook on March 21, but due to a power outage the match had to be rescheduled to April 26.
Currently, seniors Jason Liu and Evan Oaklander as well as sisters, junior Sannidhi Boppana and sophomore Samanvi Boppana, are not only just dominating the courts, but also helping coach the newer players.
The Falcons’ new coach, Thomas Ching, is focusing on getting familiar with the players and their skill, along with preparing the team for CCS. Upon losing key senior players from last year, especially Adrian Mar, the badminton team has been identifying and cultivating new underclassmen talent in hopes of making a strong performance in CCS. Gupta is one of these underclassmen, and currently plays varsity doubles.
Gupta was first introduced to badminton at age 12 and began playing club badminton at Bintang Badminton, a local training facility. With experience from playing club badminton once a week, Gupta is now one of the three freshmen — and the only boy — on the varsity team. The other two freshmen are Eliza Lin and Kritika Kalani.
“I think that I’m still growing on everybody and fitting in more as the season progresses,” Gupta said.
Since the season started, Gupta has mainly been playing doubles with Belenje. Through the progression of games, their chemistry steadily improved as they got adjusted to each other’s playing styles.
As the season continues, Gupta has the goal to win at least 75% of his games, hoping that next year he can improve to be one of the star players on the team. Among chasing these goals, however, Gupta recognizes that he has made many friends and hopes to make lasting memories with his badminton experience as he continues pushing for CCS success with his team.
“I think it’s really fun to be able to meet new people and bond with them while enjoying the sport,” Gupta said. “It’s nice to see my previous efforts paying off on the school team.”
