Young Gun: Aahna Bhatia seizing opportunities

Aahna Bhatia is not fazed by anything as she navigates a rapid rise through the badminton ranks.

The 15-year-old had an incredible 2024 at junior level, winning two U17 tournaments including the French Open.

With two silver medals at senior level under her belt, Bhatia is now joining the senior Badminton England squad for training each week, on top of her usual sessions with her coach Alex Lane.

Ranked ninth in the country in women’s singles, the teenager is embracing the speed of her progress as she becomes a name to watch.

“I took up full-time training, which was a big step for me,” Bhatia said.

“But I’ve found it really fun to step into this new chapter of my life where I can experience new players and new styles of training.

“It can be nerve-racking sometimes [playing against older players] but it gives me lots of chances to try new things.

“There’s no pressure on my back so it’s always fun to experiment with how I play.

“Seeing how they play I’m able to learn from them and their capability in maintaining a match at a high intensity.”

Bhatia started playing badminton when she was six years old after being inspired watching her older sister play.

The promising shuttler began playing the sport as an after-school hobby before it became a daily staple in her life.

“Longer term, I think it would be great to go to the Olympics or play in the All England,” she said.

“These types of tournaments are incredible experiences in a badminton career.

“In the short-term I’ll hopefully get selected for the World Junior Championships for the next few years.”

A big focus for Bhatia is the U17 European Championships this year, but she will continue to step up and compete at U19 level.

“I’m excited. I’ve been working hard to get selected for it [Under 17 European Championships].

“It will be a good tournament for me to play because it’s the top players from around Europe and it will set my place to see where I am against them.

“It will set me a path to progress in my badminton career.”

Bhatia and coach Alex are hopeful that she will achieve her goal of winning a senior international tournament whilst she is still a junior player.

“I’ve had lots of ups and downs as well as doubts in my career but winning the Under 15 Spanish International in Ibiza in 2022 really set the standard for myself,” she said.

“It gave me a boost of confidence in my training from that point on.”

Bhatia has enjoyed travelling the world through competing and has in particular enjoyed Ibiza and Croatia.

The young player hopes to travel to Asia next as she would like to experience a range of new cultures.

Bhatia cites 2024 Olympic gold medallist An Se-young of South Korea as a big inspiration for herself.

“She started playing competitively at a very young age and I think she really shows how the youth of badminton can grow.”

With the move to full-time training Bhatia is grateful for the strong support she has received both in her education and in her badminton career.

“Badminton is quite an intense sport, pushing my body to its limits in a very short amount of time can be tough.

“Now I am in senior school, the encouragement and the environment really helps me to push me to my limits and progress.”