Behind the Net: Triumphs and Turmoil in Prajakta Sawant's Badminton Career

2000's - When It All Began

I used to play cricket because my brother played cricket, so I loved playing it too—and I was good at it. But there wasn’t much scope for women’s cricket back then. I actually just wanted to play some game; I didn’t want to sit at home.

One of my dad’s friends had his own (badminton) academy in Mumbai, and that’s how I got started.

There was a summer camp, and I joined it in the middle. By the end of the camp, I ended up beating the top player there. After that win, there was no looking back.

After I finished one session, my dad used to take me to another gym. He’d let me play with the older people. With them, you have to be fast, or you have to cover them as well.

"So, that’s how you play."

It was very tiring at first, but then I actually started enjoying the journey.

This was when I started playing tournaments, U13 (under 13 division). It had only been two years of playing, and I made it into the Maharashtra state team.

In the beginning, I wasn’t so great, but in my last year of U13, I started winning district and state tournaments.

Then, I got into All India and Nationals, losing only in the semi-final.

When I went to U16, is when I started playing and winning nationals in singles and doubles. That’s how I got into the U16 National (Indian) camp as well. The national camp was in Kerala, where we would train and play tournaments.

We had to be very disciplined, and I had to be very focused. At that time, no one taught us how to focus; we were just taught by our parents to be disciplined and serious about the game. However, I would always think —‘Okay, what do I have to do the next day?’

When I went on court, I focused on how best I could give my performance. I would think about that, or if I made a mistake, I made sure not to repeat it the next time. It mattered to everything.

It was a lot of traveling and being away from home, I’d get homesick. I used to see my parents only after two or three months. I wasn’t even in touch with my mom much because, at that time, cell phones weren’t as common. School was also a problem. My school wasn’t very supportive, and in ninth grade, I changed schools to one that was. In tenth grade, I had to take my final exams, and after that, I went to play in a tournament. It was a very busy schedule.

2007 - Going For Gold

This was in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2007. I was competing in both singles and mixed doubles.

In singles, I lost badly in the second round and was really disappointed.

I thought, 'I don’t want to play anymore. I just want to go back home.'

But then my mixed doubles partner said, 'Don’t worry, we’ll win this.' I asked him, 'I can’t even win singles, do you really think we can win mixed doubles?' He was very confident.

I remember our first round was against Korea. Korea had a legendary history in mixed doubles and doubles. We beat them in straight games, so it felt like a huge win. In the second round, we played Vietnam, and in the quarterfinals, I think it was Malaysia. In the final, we faced China and won in three games. I was like,

'Wow, see?', my partner said, 'I told you we could win!'

2008-2010 - The Systems At Play

In 2010, when I was 18 years old

The All India Senior Ranking Tournament - 2010

They told us that this tournament would be for Commonwealth selection, a big deal. 5 boys and 5 girls would be selected. The fifth player was for mixed doubles. The Commonwealth game selection day came, and I was told that I would be on the team. But at the last moment, some of the officials from the association, I think, in Kerala, wanted one of their girls on the team, who was my partner. So, they took her on the team. 

I was the best mixed doubles. But then they took the other girl because of that connection. I was so depressed. I was like, “shit, man, it didn't happen for me this time also”

This had happened in juniors as well. This time, the Commonwealth Games were held in Pune in 2008, before the world junior championships.

My coach told me, ‘You're on the team,’… so I said, ‘Okay, good.’ And then suddenly I got a phone call: no, you have not been selected.

At the last moment, the other girl, who was also from Maharashtra, was selected because she was from Pune.

So, the association from Pune selected her for the team. It happened like that.

The Commonwealth Games dream was killed for me.

In the camp, I was very disciplined. I didn't have any problems, and I was very focused. Then this thing happens. Where you have to have someone on your side, like, you know, like a godfather.

‘Oh, take her in the team’ or something. But it didn't ever happen for me. 

I used to tell the coach to give me a good partner who could match me (match her skillsets as a mixed doubles player) at the international level.

In mixed doubles, the guy has to move around and reach more than the girl. The girl and defense place the shuttle and strategically open up the opportunity for the guy to smash.

The coach would say I'm a good mixed doubles player. Then he should have given me a good player who can hit harder or has a good reach .

I wanted this because the peak of badminton is, like, from 18 to 25 for girls. I was at my peak. I wanted to do something at an early age. Not like, you know,

'25 mein dekhenge' (we'll see at 25)

I wanted to perform at every tournament. I wanted to give my best every year.

2012 - The Case At The High Court

My dad used to interfere a lot. I would tell my dad everything daily, which was very harmful for me back then. Now I realize it, but it's too late. He would often call the coach and ask, 'How is she doing? How is she doing?' My dad would tell him to give me a good partner. Then, my dad would call and ask me to talk to the coach. So basically, my dad was at fault, too, interfering too much.

One day, something happened. My dad called the coach at night.

I told my coach, I don't know what's happening. I had told my dad everything is solved. I didn't say anything more because that time I was so confused, like, I didn't know what to do. So I was like, okay, okay.

And then he (her father) was like, 'You just leave from there and come home' and everything. And for like two days, I was very numb. I didn't know what to do. My dad is calling me, 'oh, you come home, you come home'. Then my coach is like, 'If you want to go home, you can go home,' but you just have to write a letter or something.

I used to go to the cafeteria, and no one would talk to me. I didn’t know how the news had spread. Now I wanted to go home because I was feeling very lonely. Everyone had stopped talking with me suddenly.

The day I was leaving in the morning, the coach was waiting outside, around 4:30 or 5:00'o clock or something. He said, 'Prajakta, you will regret this.'

I didn't have any idea because I was in a different zone or a different mindset. I was just like, "I'll see you". So I sat there and just left.

When I went home, the coach called me a day or two later and asked, 'Are you okay? Are you doing fine and everything?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm doing fine.' Then my dad took my phone from me and said, 'Oh, you did this to my girl. She was crying in the room and everything.' So they had their own fight. But in all that chaos, I was the one who was suffering because I had my vision for the Commonwealth Games. I had my vision for the Olympics. Of course, I wanted to be in the World's Top 10 or maybe even the World's Top 5. I knew that if the coach said he was going to end your career, he would end your career.

So, in this situation, both my dad and the coach made mistakes. My dad had his way of doing things, and the coach knew that. Even then, the coach didn’t support me. He could have said, 'It's okay, we can sort this out, and we can keep your dad out of this,' but he didn’t do that. I wanted to go back to the national camp, so I called the coach. I emailed him as well and asked, 'Can I come back this week?' He responded, 'You cannot come to the camp.'

He told me that the Association of India had taken disciplinary action against me, but I never even received any official letter. So, I directly spoke to the president of the India Association, and they said they would send me the letter, but it never arrived. The government was funding my training at the academy, yet I wasn't allowed into the camp. The National Center was taking the money but not allowing me in. He had no choice but to keep my name on the camp list, but I was still not let in the entire year of 2012.

I’m not sure exactly when, but around August or September, my dad filed a case against the coach for mental harassment. There was no conversation. It was just a decision of my dad. 'Okay, we are building a case against him. That's it.'

I was never even asked, " do you want to put a case on him?" There was nothing like that. When you put a mental harassment court allegation on someone, which is a public figure, it is very disheartening. It became a big news story. I didn't know what was happening at the time, and I felt like my badminton career was over.

So this court case was going on from 2012 for multiple years. It was so stressful. In 2014, it was still ongoing—it lasted for two years. And during the court case, I was the only one who could go because my mom and my dad couldn’t come.

My dad was paralytic, he had got paralysis in 2009.

I would leave in the morning, traveled by train for 45 minutes, then took a cab to the High Court, finish the case proceedings, and come back home in the evening. Near the court, there were printing shops where I would get all the court papers printed. I had to organize everything properly—green legal papers for the court and white papers for the other party. I managed all of this by myself. My lawyer didn't do anything.

No one helped me—not even my brother, who is five years older than me. I ended up wasting all my money on the case, but nothing happened. I had to spend my own money because my dad controlled everything, even the finances. He used to control me in every way.

2013 - The Revenge Game

Bahrain International Series

There was one tournament in 2013 in Bahrain, where all the Indian players, including the National Team players, played. It was an international tournament, and even though it was a smaller one, it was still a good one.

My partner for this tournament was younger than me, about three years younger. We practiced together in Bangalore for about a week or two. Having only played singles before, she was very new to doubles.

The players from my old academy also came, and my ex-doubles partner was there, partnering with someone else.

In the first round, we played against Indonesians. It was a small stadium, not very big, and I could hear everything. We were losing in the first game of the round because we didn’t have any coordination. The group from my old academy, including my ex-partner, were just sitting there, watching and laughing because we were losing. That really got to me, and I thought, ‘Now I have to win this match.’ We fought back and won.

In the semi-finals, we faced my ex-partner and her new partner, and we lost the first game. However, during the break, I made a strategy.

I told my partner, ‘You only lift cross-court, so they can only hit straight smashes. If they try a cross smash, it will come much slower than a straight one.’ She lifted everything to my side, and they kept hitting at me. My defense is very strong, so I took all the points on my defense and my service. That was our only strategy, and it worked—we won in three sets. After the match, they were so upset. That was very satisfying because they were laughing at us in the first match. I was very angry, and when I get angry, I play well.

Then, in the finals, we played against two girls—one from Pune and one from Kerala. One of them was the girl who got selected for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

As usual, we lost the first game. Then we won the second game. In the third game, we were down 11-3 when we changed sides. After that, we got one point (11-4), and I got the service. On that service, we won 21-13 straight.

We just finished the match. We won the tournament!

When I went back home to Mumbai, press people came to me. But there was media at the airport. I don't know who called the media, but Holy shit!

'oh, you won the tournament, this, that, that. You beat the national team players.'

Reflecting

My story will be that sometimes you have a vision, but life can take you somewhere else. You have to accept that. Because some things are not in your control. It doesn't mean you stop fighting or stop thinking about that vision. You still have to go through that vision. You still have to aim at that thing.

(to my younger self) I would just say don't give up. Even if no one is supporting you, things are going in a different direction. You still keep your aim on the same goal. You might achieve, or you may not. But you have to accept the fact that whatever will happen, everything will have a good outcome. It won't be bad.

You will learn things from that. Maybe you may not be successful in badminton, but you will be in some other places. That will teach you for life.

Badminton is not the only life. Sports is not the only life.

For the Love Of The Badminton

I love that game. I wanted to play every tournament. I wanted to play in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. I wanted to play in the Olympics. I had that vision. So that's why I worked hard every day.

In spite of politics or my family problems, everything.

I just used to think about the match, about the game, and that's it.

Win or lose, it didn't matter to me because when I played the game, I was happy.