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Priyanshu Rajawat, an emerging badminton star has given the nation so many reasons to celebrate in the past year. Currently ranked at the 28th spot in world rankings, Rajawat is a big-time football freak. The young lad looks up to Cristiano Ronaldo and gets fueled by the Al-Nassr captain's dedication to the sport. He hails from a town of names like Sameer Verma, Pratul Joshi, and Saurabh Verma, i.e., Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. Rajawat drew inspiration from his elder brother Kunal Rajawat, and decided to pick the racquet. Back then, a six-seven-year-old Rajawat didn’t know he would end up taking the game seriously.
Clinching the State Championship title inspired Rajawat to pursue the sport further, and it was then the journey of a dedicated shuttler started as he landed at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Gwalior and then Hyderabad. However, badminton was never his first love. Rajawat found interest in football, and he wanted to pursue the game professionally; but, due to the lack of chances, he had to let go of his passion.
While the game keeps him busy, the Dhar native makes sure to take some time to watch football and cricket. The 22-year-old is a fan of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and says the latter’s game motivates him when other things fail to do so. Rajawat told SportsTiger, “Cristiano Ronaldo’s hard work inspires me to do my best. Seeing him work so hard and his dedication to the game is quite motivating.”
I don’t like to compare myself to my competitors: Priyanshu Rajawat
The 2022 historic Thomas Cup-winning team member said that he doesn’t like to compare himself to others. He said, “I don’t like to compare myself to others; instead I keep my focus on giving my best.” Speaking about his recent win against a senior player Lakshya Sen, he said, “He is a senior, and he has more experience, but during the match, I just wanted to give my best. I focused on delivering my best shot, rather than thinking about win or loss.”
Rajawat went on to say, “I just like to think about myself and my game. Comparing myself to others would only push me to be someone else. Hence, I don’t pay attention to the comparisons.” Rajawat is currently working hard to secure the Paris Olympics 2024 quota, and pushing himself to do his best in the next tournaments. Speaking about his upcoming plans, he said, “To secure an Olympics quota is on my list, and though it is kind of challenging, I am working hard to play the best games in the next tournaments.”
An ambitious Madhya Pradesh boy continued, “Even if I don’t succeed in getting qualified, I want to be the world number 1. I aim to be in the top ten by this year, and be the top-seeded player in the next few years.”
