🏸❤️ Game, Crush and Match

Hi, I’m Nitendra, a software engineer at Circle Chess — and like most of us, my badminton career started very seriously.

Our net was a gate. Boundaries were slippers. Opponents were siblings who argued over every point. One of us stood inside the aangan, the other played on the road, dodging traffic mid-rally. Risk management came early.

I did attend formal coaching for exactly one week. Then the academy shut down (again, not our fault). Cricket took over — because obviously I was going to be the next Virat Kohli — until reality politely disagreed.

During JEE prep, badminton became my sanity break. We found a group of uncles playing on a cement court, helped repaint the lines, and joined in. Parents disapproved, so we perfected our routine: escape at 8 PM, play till 10, get scolded, repeat daily.

Post-JEE, I picked IIT Kanpur — mainly because of its badminton culture. Elders suggested IIT Kharagpur for “better career scope,” but physics was my strength, and the courts mattered. At IITK, I won Freshers’ Inferno gold and joined the team, playing alongside national-level monsters like Gopi and Rohit.

Then came that tournament. I noticed a senior from another college — energetic, crazy, and incredible on court. Naturally, I trained hard for Inter-IIT to impress her… and lost in the fifth game. Turns out, life is not scripted.

I avoided her after that loss — until she sent me a Facebook request. We chatted, made a “good moments” jar pact, and eventually drifted apart.

Badminton gave me sneaky night matches, shaped my college decision, and delivered a Facebook request that felt better than a medal.

And yes — I still smash relentlessly. 😎🏸