Arundhati Pantawane - Ranking

Arundhati Pantawane - Current World Ranking: 169 (Ranking as on 14-Jun-2011)

Arundhati Pantawane

Arundhati Pantawane, India's fastest rising badminton player in the women's singles, has climbed into the top 200 bracket as per the latest world badminton rankings released by the Badminton World Federation.

Arundhati was unranked at the start of the year 2011, but has made rapid strides in the upward direction in the world rankings this year. In just 3 months she has made it to the top 200 bracket, and her recent performances indicate that she will get into the top 50 soon.

Arundhati, who currently plays on the professional club badminton circuit for the Taby Club at Stockholm in Sweden, started the year 2011 with a bang at the Rohtak National Badminton championships where she stunned onlookers by reaching the finals of the tournament defeating several favorite players in the process. Though in the final match she lost to Aditi Mutatkar in a very close contest, the tournament proved that Arundhati had arrived on the badminton scene and there would be no stopping her now.

Immediately after the Rohtak Nationals, Arundhati played the Estonian Open where she started as a qualifier, and not only won the qualifying matches, but went on to reach the finals of the event, and won a Silver medal at the tournament. This performance gave her a solid 2500 ranking points that enabled her to enter the world rankings charts.

Arundhati then followed up this fine performance at the Estonian Open by winning the National Games Gold Medal, at Ranchi in India, was ranked No.1 for a while in the Indian rankings, and is stamping a permanent mark on the Indian badminton scene.

At the Swiss Open, Arundhati won all her qualifying rounds, but lost in the first round of the main draw to an opponent who eventually claimed the silver medal at the event.

Then came Arundhati's fabulous performance at the Polish Open-2011, where Arundhati started again as a qualifier and went on to reach the semi-finals of the event, defeating a world no.35 ranking player in the process. She eventually lost to Larisa Griga (ranked no.34) of Ukraine in the semi-finals, however this fantastic performance fetched her a neat 2800 ranking points, that elevated her from being no.267 to no.196 in the world rankings.

And very recently, in a club match on the professional club circuit, Arundhati playing for the Taby club, defeated Larisa Griga to earn sweet revenge for her loss in the Polish Open.

Have any doubts about how far this girl can reach.
'Just Wait and Watch!'


Related Article:

An Interview with Arundhati Pantawane


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An Interview with Arundhati Pantawane

Arundhati Pantawane, is one of India's best upcoming badminton players. She emerged a surprise runner-up at this year's National championships that was held at Rohtak, in Haryana, and then followed this up with another great Silver medal winning performance at the Estonian International tournament.


I recently had the pleasure of having a chat with her, that was followed by an interview.
Here's what she has to say.


Hi Arundhati, please tell us more about your family background. And how did you happen to turn from athletics to badminton?


Arundhati Pantawane

Arundhati Pantawane said:
Well, my father is an athletics coach and my mother was also an athlete, so I used to do athletics, the 100m and 200m. As a kid, I also used to go with my father to play badminton. Then slowly I started to develop more interest in badminton, then I joined some coaching camps back in Nagpur, and then started entering into competitions.


Then one day it so happened that both my athletics finals and my badminton finals were on the same date and time. My parents decided that I should opt for the badminton match, and so I left my athletics finals and went in for badminton. And I lost that badminton final match, whereas if I would have ran my 100 m. finals, I could have easily won it. But still we continued with the badminton. And because of that one decision I am here.


Being a Nagpur girl, has the road to success been tougher than others? Does Nagpur have as many badminton facilities as in Mumbai or Pune?


Arundhati Pantawane :
Well, being a nagpur girl, yes, there was a struggle. but I never thought of it that way. Actually I was quite small at that time and I never used to understand that why its always me… but we (me and my parents) were like, its ok, and it happens to every sports person. So we didn’t care about the people, we just worked hard and hard.


And Nagpur does have badminton facilities, though they are not really as good as those available in Mumbai or Pune. I used to go to Subhedar hall from 5 to 7 pm. And we used to have only 2 courts for the first hour, and then only one court for next one hour, and there were 20 students playing at the same time. I never used to get to play more than 15 min. on court. But then I used to do lots of physical training, which is helping me a lot now.
Later on, I joined the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, and now I have been training there since the last 4 years.


And, how did this playing as a professional, for the Stockholm based Taby club come about?
Arundhati Pantawane :
Well, one day Atik Jauhari, the Indonesian coach who was also our national coach, gave me this offer. He had been coaching in Sweden before getting into the contract with India, and my club owner Kent Kotte is good friend of him. So he asked me and I was ready to accept the contract for a year. This is how I got this contract, because of Atik Sir.

And how has been your experience of playing in the Club circuit at Sweden? Is there any difference between the work culture of club circuit badminton players in Sweden and those in India?

Arundhati Pantawane :

Well, its great here. Everyone was excited when I came here. And then I started playing good, started winning matches for the club, and all the team members and the coaches were happy. Its really fun being with them. I have developed a good rapport with the players and the coaches and the people over here. They are really very nice. And they are always asking me about the Indian culture.


As far as badminton is concerned, there is a difference between the playing strength in India and in Sweden. Our Indian players standard is quite high compared to the Swedish players.


You did not play any international matches in 2010. Was there any particular reason for this?
Arundhati Pantawane :
No particular reason for this, actually. At the start of the year I was not at all in form. I was in very bad form, in fact. So, then I just concentrated on my practice at the start of the year, and then later on I played in Bangalore, started performing well, then came to Sweden and started playing tournaments here. 


Then played in the Asian Games. Then again it was back to Sweden, so its almost been travel travel and travel this whole year. First I wanted to get into good ranking in India, and then try for Internationals, that was my aim.


You almost clinched the National title this year. And now this Silver medal at the Estonian open. What is the reason for this sudden success?
Arundhati Pantawane :
Actually, in the Nationals I didn’t expect that I will be playing the finals. Frankly, I was expecting to reach till quarters and semis. Well, whatever the result was I am satisfied. Even in the Estonian Open, it was quite unexpected.


There is no reason as such behind this success. Whenever I go on court, I just try to give my best, and try to do all those things which I have learnt from my coach.


How did it feel like playing in the finals of the Nationals? What was your game plan against Aditi?
Arundhati Pantawane :
Well, as I told you, being in the finals was quite unexpected. It felt great. But really felt bad after losing the match, but never minded it, coz I have lot more to go. And I can only say to myself, Better LUCK next time..!!!
And there was no game plan as such against Aditi. I had already beaten her up in team events. So I was pretty confident, my body was good, everything was ok. But in the 3^rd game she played very patiently and I was all in a hurry. May be this is one of the reasons, that I lost the match. Well, there is always a next time.


Who are your favorite badminton players, from India & outside of India?
Arundhati Pantawane : I have only one favorite and that’s my coach P.Gopichand. I like his attitude, his personality. His game…. I want to become like him.

And, what are the goals that you have set for yourself for 2011?

Arundhati Pantawane : My goal in 2011 is to get good International ranking by the year end.

Thanks a lot for your time, Arundhati, and wish you all the very best for the future.
Hope you earn lots of success!

Related Links:

Arundhati Pantawane - Profile

Aditi, Arundhati crash out of Swedish open

In a disappointing day for Indian badminton fans, both Aditi Mutatkar & Arundhati Pantawane of India unexpectedly crashed out in the first round of the main draw itself, at the Swedish Open badminton tournament today.

Mayu Sekiya (world ranking 152) of Japan first defeated Arundhati Pantawane 21-7, 22-20, and some time later it was Kaori Imabeppu (world ranking 87) also of Japan, who defeated Aditi Mutatkar 21-19, 22-20

To go all the way to Sweden & lose in the first round... Must be very disappointing for the players, as also for indian badminton fans, and bad for the growth of badminton in India in general...

The only silver lining was the matches were very close, and the girls did not go down without fighting... apart from this not much to talk about of this day...

Swedish Open: Arundhati wins qualifying rounds

Arundhati Pantawane

Arundhati Pantawane eased her way into the main draw of the Swedish Open badminton tournament notching comfortable wins in the first 2 qualifying rounds.

Her first match against local girl Sofie Werner of Sweden, was one of the shortest matches of the day. It lasted only for 17 minutes as Arundhati cruised to a comfortable 21-8, 21-9 victory.
 
Arundhati's second match did not last much longer either. She defeated Kim Buss of Germany, 21-15 21-11 in just 21 minutes.

 

Aditi Mutatkar

With these two wins in the qualifying rounds, Arundhati has now reached the main draw of the tournament that will be played tomorrow, and the competition there is going to be much tougher.

Aditi Mutatkar is the other Indian girl in the fray tomorrow, and the good part is that both Arundhati & Aditi are in separate halfs of the tournament draw, so Indian badminton fans can keep their fingers crossed & hope for an All-India final at Sweden.

Easier said than done! But not impossible...

Arundhati Pantawane

Arundhati Pantawane is one the best upcoming badminton players from India. She currently plays professional club badminton for the Taby club, at Stockholm, Sweden. She is the first out-station ward of the Pullela Gopichand Badminton academy.


Arundhati Pantawane


Arundhati is currently ranked at No.169 in the world as per the latest badminton world rankings (As on 14-Jun-2011).
She has recently come up with terrific performances reaching the finals of the National Championships & the Estonian Open, winning the gold medal at the National Games held at Ranchi this year, and reaching the semi-finals of the Polish Open.
[Update: This sterling performance in the Nationals catapulted Arundhati Pantawane to No.1 position in the Indian rankings released by the BAI in Jan-2011 (albeit this came with reasons: Saina Nehwal has stopped playing domestic badminton, and Aditi also did not play enough tournaments)].

Nevertheless this still means a lot & provided Arundhati plays sufficient international tournaments and in the same winning style, then she should move up a lot in the international rankings also. She is well known in badminton circles for her attacking style of badminton.

Arundhati Pantawane Fact File:

Arundhati's Birth Date: 2-Sep-1989

She studied at: L.A.D. College, Nagpur
Arundhati Pantawane is from: Nagpur, India.
Currently staying at: Stockholm, Sweden, playing professional club badminton.

Arundhati Pantawane - Notable Achievements:

Jul-2010:
Arundhati was the Finalist at the Bengaluru ranking tournament, on the Indian National Badminton Circuit:

Aug-2010:
Arundhati Pantawane won the senior ranking tournament in Rae Bareilly, on India's National Badminton Circuit:
Jan-2011:
Arundhati Pantawane emerges Runners-up at Indian National Badminton Championship:

Arundhati Pantawane emerged as a surprise Runner-up at the National Badminton Championship at Rohtak, Haryana held in Jan this year. She had entered the tournament as a qualifier, and made her way all through to the finals of the tournament defeating defending national champion Trupti Murgunde, on her way.
In an exciting final match, Aditi Mutatkar finally managed to end her dream run, and Arundhati had to be satisfied being the runner-up. However Arundhati Pantawane nevertheless did leave a lasting impression on badminton fans in India with her solid performance in the Nationals.

Arundhati wins Silver Medal at the Estonian Open:

Arundhati Pantawane then followed up this dream run, with a Silver Medal at the Estonian Open International Badminton tournament in Tallinn, Estonia. There also she started the tournament as a qualifier & not only did she win the qualifying rounds with ease, but marched on to the finals of the tournament with power-packed performances. Arundhati's run at the Estonian Open finally ended, when Michelle Chan, New Zealand's No.1 player, ranked 95 in the world, defeated her 21-16, 21-19.
This was Arundhati's first ever medal at a senior International event.

Feb-2011:
Arundhati Pantawane wins Gold Medal at National Games badminton, Ranchi:

Arundhati Pantawane won the Gold Medal at the women's singles badminton event at the National Games of India that was held at Ranchi in Jharkhand. She defeated P.C.Thulasi of Kerala in the finals.

Mar-2011:
Arundhati stuns fancied players to reach the Semi-Finals of Polish Open-2011:

Arundhati Pantawane again started as a qualifier at the Polish Open-2011 and came up with inspiring performances to reach the semi-finals of the tournament, defeating the world. no.34 & the world no.64 on her way to the semi-finals.

Related Article:

An Interview with Arundhati Pantawane


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Arundhati wins Silver Medal at Estonian Open

Arundhati Pantawane's brilliant run at the Estonian open finally came to an end, in the womens singles badminton finals match.



Arundhati Pantawane

 Michelle Kit Yin Chan of New Zealand defeated Arundhati by a score of 21-16, 21-19 in the finals held at Tallinn in Estonia.

Earlier, Arundhati who was a qualifier for this event, not only had won the qualifying rounds with ease, but weaved her way to the Finals defeating seeded players in the process.

For Arundhati, who currently plays as a professional badminton player for the Taby club at Sweden, 2011 is turning out to be a good year. She had earlier reached the finals of the Indian Senior National Badminton championship at Rohtak in Haryana, and lost by a very narrow margin in the finals. And she has now followed up this great run at the Indian Nationals, with a Silver medal in the Estonian Open.

She may not have won the Gold, but her performance does deserve a ton of praise.
And God willing, with the way she is playing, her golden days also will come very soon!

Arundhati in Finals of Estonian Open

Nagpur girl Arundhati Pantawane, continued her dream run at the Estonian open with a thrilling win over Ozge Bayrak in the semi-finals of the Yonex Etsonian International 2011 Badminton tournament being held at Tallinn in Estonia.

Arundhati defeated Ozge Bayrak in a pulsating semi-final match that looked like going either way in the first 2 sets. Arundhati won the first set at 22-20, lost the second at 17-20. In the third set a totally different Arundhati emerged, winning point after point after point.Ozge didn't know what hit her. Arundhati finally closed out the third set at 21-12.

She is scheduled to play 3rd seed Michelle Kit Ying Chan (TUR) in the finals that will be held today at the Sports Hall - Kalev 4. Michelle is currently ranked No.95 as per the BWF badminton world rankings.

However, if Arundhati continues to play the way she has been doing throughout this year, (in the rohtak senior national badminton championship) and in the current Estonian tournament, then she is in with a very realistic chance of winning the Estonian title.

Let's hope for the best.
Go for the Gold, girl!



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Arundhati in Semifinals of Estonian Open

Yet another outstanding performance by Arundhati Pantawane of India, at the Estonian Open!

Arundhati Pantawane


As per the latest information, Arundhati, defeated World No.85 Perrine Le Buhanic 21-14, 15-21, 21-11 some time back, to reach the Semi-finals of the Estonian Open. (Yonex Estonian International 2011)

With this win, Arundhati has now won 5 matches in a row at the tournament. Arundhati, who walked in as a qualifier here, won the first 2 qualifying rounds with ease, and then made her way all through to the semi-finals with 3 wins in a row in the main draw.

Way to go, girl!
Go for Gold!

Aditi crowned as the new National Badminton Champion

ADITI MUTATKAR WINS CROWN AFTER THRILLING FINAL MATCH:
JUSTIFIES HER INDIA NO.2 STATUS




Aditi Mutatkar

 23-year old Aditi Mutatkar of Pune, scripted one of her most memorable wins yesterday, when she defeated Arundhati Pantawane in the women's singles finals of the National Badminton championship at Rohtak in Haryana yesterday.

Aditi won the thrilling contest 19-21, 23-21, 21-15, saving 3 match points in the 2nd game, and after trailing 3-7 in the decider as well. Aditi, who has earlier been troubled a lot with injuries, was determination personified as she bounced back strongly to justify her status as the No.2 player in India, next only to Saina Nehwal.

With this win, Aditi has finally bagged the National Senior crown, a title that had been eluding her since the last 3-4 years.

She summed her feelings in a single line yesterday after the win, when she wrote on her Facebook wall
"and thats the way the cookie crumbles.......what a day!!!!!"


ARUNDHATI, PRAISE-WORTHY PERFORMANCE:



Arundhati Pantawane

 While Aditi won the coveted title, Nagpur's 21-year old Arundhati Pantawane, deserves a lot of praise for her solid & consistent performance in this tournament.

She made her way to the main draw by playing the qualifying rounds, and then got the prize scalp of Aditi Mutatkar in the team events (agreed that Aditi may have only landed there the night before, and may have probably not got used to the courts like Arundhati was. But then a match is a match. And ultimately Results matter, reasons don't!).

Arundhati then followed up this win, with a dream run right upto the finals defeating several favorite players in the process, that included defending champion Trupti Murgunde.

To account such a run to just good form does not seem to be enough. Rather her performance seems to be a reflection of vastly improved skills, a greater improvement in temperament and most importantly seems to be an indication of a greater desire to win at the highest levels.

She obviously seems to be onto something really good right now (maybe playing as a professional for the Stockholm-based Taby club is helping), and if she just continues performing in this fashion, her crowning day also will come sooner than later.

Well done to the Winner, and a well done to the Runner-up also!