Aakarshi Kashyap (born 24 August 2001) is an Indian

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

player. She was selected to be part of the Indian team at the 2018 Asian Games. She was part of the national women's team that won the gold medal in

2019 South Asian Games The 2019 South Asian Games, officially the XIII South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event which was originally slated to be held from 9 to 18 March 2019 in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Nepal. However, the dates were postponed and the event was ...

Early life, training and domestic results

Early life and training

Aakarshi Kashyap was born on 24 August 2001 in

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. With population exceeding 1 million, it is the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur. Bhil ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

, to Sanjeev Kashyap, a dermatologist, and Amita Kashyap. She has a younger brother named Shreyash. Aakarshi studied in Delhi Public School,

Rajnandgaon Rajnandgaon is a city in Rajnandgaon District, in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. the population of the city was 163,122. Rajnandgaon district came into existence on 26January 1973, as a result of the division of Durg district. History O ...

. Her father encouraged her to improve her fitness and physical training. She studied for a BA at Seth Sugan Chand Surana College,

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg-Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg-Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur ...

. Aakarshi started playing badminton in 2009 under Coach Sanjay Mishra at Ravi Shankar Stadium in Durg. She used to train by herself at the badminton courts of

Bhilai Steel Plant The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in Bhilai, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and ...

, playing with locals three against one.

2014–2016

Kashyap's first win was at the All India Ranking Tournament in

Sivakasi Sivakasi () is a city and Municipal Corporation in Virudhunagar District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This city is known for its fireworks, firecracker, matchbox and printing industries. Sivakasi city alone meets about 90% fire cracker ...

on August 24, 2014. She won the nationals title at

Vishakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...

in November 2015. On 28 April 2016, Kashyap won the twin crowns in the U-15 and U-17 girls' single category at the PNB MetLife Junior Badminton Championship Season 2 National Finals. In 2016, Kashyap began training in Prakash Padukone Academy in Bengaluru. She stayed with her mother in an accommodation sponsored by

Olympic Gold Quest Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) is a program of the Foundation for Promotion of Sports and Games, a Not for Profit (Section 25) Company, which is committed to bridging the gap between the best athletes in India and the best athletes in the world thus hel ...

, a non-profit organization. Kashyap claimed twin crowns in the U-17 and U-19 girls' singles in the 25th Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament organized by Express Shuttle Club on October 16, 2016. Also in 2016, Kashyap was selected to represent India in the Badminton Asia U-15 and U-17 junior championships, held at

Kudus, Indonesia Kudus ( Javanese: ꦏꦸꦢꦸꦱ꧀) is the capital and the namesake of the Kudus Regency in Central Java, Indonesia. Its name has an Arabic etymology (Arab: القدس al-Quds) connected to its foundation by the legendary figure Sunan Kudus. It al ...

, where she bagged a bronze medal.

2017–2018

In November 2017 Kashyap lost against London Games bronze medallist

Saina Nehwal Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...

in the senior National Badminton Championship. But this match drew her into the spotlight. In December 2017 she scored a double win at the 42nd Junior National Badminton Championship (U-17, U-19) held in Guwahati. In January 2018 she won the top prize at the Yonex-Sunrise All India Senior Ranking badminton tournament in Bengaluru. Kashyap was made to fight hard for her win in the final against

Gayathri Gopichand Pullela Gayatri Gopichand (born 4 March 2003) is an Indian badminton player. She is the daughter of former badminton players P. V. V. Lakshmi and Pullela Gopichand. She was part of the national team that clinched the women's team gold medal at ...

, prevailing in the final decider after a 63-minute marathon match 21–17, 12–21, 21–9. In the Khelo Indian School Games held in January 2018, Kashyap won in the U-17 match. India's ranked player won the girls' singles title of the Yonex sunrise all India junior ranking badminton tournament in May 2018.

2019–present

In 2019, Kashyap continued her form by taking top honours gain in the domestic singles event at the Yonex Sunrise All India Senior Ranking tournament in

Vijayawada Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the NTR district. Its metropolitan region comprises NT ...

, India. She defeated Anura Prabhudesai in the final with a 21–12, 21–16 victory. In 2020, Kashyap began practicing at the Suchitra Badminton Academy in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. The ace

shuttler Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players per ...

from Chhattisgarh won the title in the women's singles category at Kenya International 2020, which is the BWF Future Series event. In December 2021, Kashyap once again clinched the women's singles titles at the All India Ranking tournament. Kashyap defended her title by defeating qualifier Tanya Hemanth in straight games in the final 21–15, 21–12. In 2022 she defeated Ashmitia Chaliha in BAI selection trials to qualify for the

Uber Cup The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Women's Team Championships, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956–1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contes ...

team and Asian and Commonwealth games in individual and team event.

Achievements

BWF International Challenge/Series (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

''Women's singles'' :

BWF International Challenge The BWF International Challenge is a grade 3 and level 1 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Series (level 2) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF International Series The BWF International Series is a grade 3 and level 2 tournament part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and Future Series (level 3), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament :

BWF Future Series The BWF Future Series is a grade 3 and level 3 tournaments part of Continental Circuit of BWF tournaments along with International Challenge (level 1) and International Series (level 2), sanctioned by Badminton World Federation (BWF) since 2007. ...

tournament

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kashyap, Aakarshi 2001 births Living people People from Bhilai Racket sportspeople from Chhattisgarh Sportswomen from Chhattisgarh Indian female badminton players Badminton players at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for India Badminton players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in badminton South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in badminton 21st-century Indian women Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games