Badminton team bounces back after rocky start April 1, 2022 — by Serena Li and Sanjoli Gupta Sannidhi Boppana plays badminton at a home game against Cupertino on March 31. With 24 new freshmen players this season, the badminton team is working on team bonding and improvement of skills On March 31, the Falcons fell 16-14 to Cupertino, marking their fifth loss of the season. Though the team wins have been rare this spring, individuals like sophomore singles player Sannidhi Boppana, a team captain and badminton veteran, have been teaching younger players how to play the game. With 24 new freshmen players, she and the other captains work to help players improve their technique, form and agility through drills. The team has also seen a record high in the number of girls joining, making it more well-rounded and diverse compared to previous years, according to junior captain Jason Liu. As a result, head coach John Li is focusing on team bonding to form closer relationships with each other. At the beginning of the season, players sat around a circle and introduced their interests and background. During practice, Li randomly pairs players up to practice in doubles to help players get to know each other. “We’re pretty close with the coach and he treats us very respectfully,” Liu said. “He just wants us to have fun so we can work well together.” The team holds a 2-5 record as of April 1, winning against Los Gatos and Gunn , but losing to Monta Vista , Lynbrook , Milpitas, Wilcox, and Cupertino. The team plays rematches against Lynbrook on April 5 and Wilcox on April 21. The team has seen progress in recent games. “All our games have been pretty close recently,” Liu said. “We were losing quite a bit, but we’re hoping to make a comeback.” 4 views this weekAbout the contributorsSanjoli GuptaSanjoli Gupta, Class of ‘24, is a News Editor of the 2023-24 Falcon staff. Previously, she was the School Scope Editor between 2022-23, Head Photographer between 2021-22 and Reporter and Layout Artist between 2020-21. She has attended the Stanford Daily Summer Journalism program as well as The School of The New York Times Inside the UN/Journalism/Law program where she interviewed a Holocaust survivor and learned about libel. She has won a Silver Key in Scholastic Art and Writing for her feature story on being both South Asian and Christian. Some topics she has previously covered include bioethics, intimidation, future professions and religion. Some things she enjoys outside journalism include reading, baking and photography.