A Fort St. John badminton player takes to the courts in Brazil this week for the 2022 Para Badminton International.
Rishav Sharma is among the eight players representing Canada in the tournament, his first since 2019.
“It's been a long time,” Rishav said Monday. “I’m feeling ready, win or lose. I’m confident.”
Sharma was ranked 71st in his men’s singles category heading into the tournament, and scheduled to play his first match against Brazil's Manoel Roseno Pereira Lima Tuesday morning.
Sharma has been playing badminton since 2011, and moved to Fort St. John in 2016 to study business at Northern Lights College. He's represented Canada in the international games in the U.S. in 2017, where he won bronze, and in Japan in 2018 and Ottawa in 2019, where he made it to the quarterfinals.
In 2017, Sharma won gold at the first-ever B.C. Provincial Para-Badminton Championships, where he represented Fort St. John.
This year’s international tournament in Brazil includes more than 200 players, and Sharma will compete against players from across the world with upper body injuries, including France, Peru, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Cuba, Poland, Malaysia, and Venezuela.
He’s asked for a partner and hopes he'll be able to compete in doubles as well.
“My goal is to play against top level players and gain more experience,” Sharma said. “I’m looking for the first or second or third position, any position. Even if I lose, I don't care. I'm here for the experience.”
Sharma has been working to grow the sport locally, starting up a local youth club that impressed hometown fans during its debut at the BC Winter Games in Fort St. John in 2020. The club has since grown to more than 30 players.
“I started as a player and didn’t know I could go into coaching. Now I’m athlete and a coach. That makes big a difference in your life,” Sharma said.
“As a coach you learn a lot of things. As an athlete you learn the discipline. As a coach, you learn the value of discipline.”
The six-day tournament runs until April 24.
