Born in Manipur, 19 year old Meiraba Luwang is one of India’s brightest badminton stars. He won his first international singles title at the White Night Russian Junior International Badminton at St Petersburg in Russia and has excelled at both the domestic and international stage since then. He has trained at the Prakash Padukone Academy since 2013 and has honed his skills to develop into a shuttler who is now a force to be reckoned with.
In this exclusive interview, Meiraba Luwang speaks about his badminton journey, memorable achievements, training regime, mental health, overcoming challenges, future goals and more!
Q 1) How did your journey in badminton begin and who were your childhood sporting idols while growing up?
My father is a Badminton coach and I was influenced to play badminton by him. I don’t remember the exact age I took up the sport but I used to play it with friends at home. When I was 7-8 years old, I started going to the Manipur Badminton Association to play with the professional shuttlers. That’s when I started seeing people like Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei on the television and I was quite inspired by the way they play on the court, the way they handle situations and as the time grew I started learning more from them. That’s how I started my journey and this is how I have taken inspiration and learnt from them.
Q 2) What are some of the most memorable achievements in your career and why?
There is one tournament that comes to my mind, it was in Qatar when I won the U13 National title because it was my first national title in badminton and I remember that nobody expected me to win, including myself which is why it was quite memorable for me. Somehow I won the tournament and my journey began. That is the most memorable moment that comes to mind.
Q 3) What is your training regime like and how important of a role does mental health play in achieving the desired result in badminton?
Right now our training is scheduled to be taken by our new coach who has come from South Korea. I cannot say there is a fixed timing everyday since it depends on the training we would do today and also what he has plans for the next day. Most of the time the session starts around 6:00-7:30 am and after that from 9:30-1 pm. We have our lunch and there is another session which starts from 3:30 pm and ends when the training is finished. As I have gone through my journey, I have discovered the importance of mental health, not just in badminton but also in many things off the court. It is also important to know how to deal with mental health problems. I have taken a mental training session from my coach Samiksha. A lot of things have improved in terms of how to handle my mind so it has helped me a lot.
Also read: My goal is to become a Paralympic medallist – Asiya Mohamed
Q 4) What are some of the challenges you have faced in your career so far? How did you overcome them?
There are many challenges I have faced in my career and I just adapt to the challenges and find various ways to tackle them differently. There is always a new challenge everyday, whether it’s on the court or outside. I like it because it is fun to have challenges and it gets me hyped up to overcome them. Depending on the situation, I find the right method or strategy to overcome my challenges.
Q 5) How was your experience at the Prakash Padukone Academy? How have they helped you in your development of the player you are today?
I have been at the Prakash Padukone Academy since 2013, which is about 9 years. The academy has kept growing since the time I have joined and it has all the facilities an athlete needs to compete at the international level. It feels like home for me.
Q 6) What are some of your future goals and aspirations? How do you plan to accomplish them?
As of now, my goal is to participate in as many tournaments as I can to accumulate points so that I get the opportunity to play at the biggest events.
