Mahereen Riza K (second right) with her mother Aiesha Beevi and coaches of New Vision Badminton Sport Manoj Sahibjan (left) and Kesit Sutrisno.

Rising Indian badminton player Mahereen Riza K has chosen Qatar as her base for a yearlong training program under the coaches of New Vision Badminton Sport. The talented 15-year-old girl, who has already represented India and reached the pre-quarter-finals in the Asian Badminton Championship in Myanmar last year, is aiming to become India’s best U-17 and U-19 singles player before she turns 17.

“I aim to work hard here for the next one year. This is my first visit to Qatar. I aim to represent India in international tournaments like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu,” the youngster told reporters after a training session at Cambridge School in Doha. Riza who last month answered her Class X exams in Trivandrum, Kerala said she will be travelling often to India to take part in the tournaments besides international events.

“I need to take part in the state and national championship to maintain my rankings and to be eligible to play for the state and the country,” Riza said. Riza’s dream to be India’s best is fully supported by her architect mother Aiesha Beevi, who will be staying and traveling with her during her stay in Qatar, and her banker father Mohamed KS.

Beevi said they have chosen Qatar as their base as they were impressed with the coaching methods of the Founder and Chief Coach at the New Vision Badminton Sport Manoj Sahibjan. “We chose Manoj and his team as we found his coaching methods – during his short trips to India – were different and he was able to motivate Riza in raising her game and keep her focused,” said Beevi. Sahibjan and Indonesian-born coach Kesit Sutrisno have drawn out an elaborate six-hour coaching plan for Riza. “Her training has been categorized into three sessions namely the morning session, afternoon session, and the evening session. Each session is for a two-hour period,” said Sahibjan. “The morning session focuses on field training and weight training which helps her develop quickness, endurance, strength, and speed. Her afternoon session is to help her improve her on-court skills, gain knowledge on gameplay, technique, and tactics, and help her play without any negatives and a strong mindset,” he said.

“She completes her day with an evening session from 10:00 pm to 12:00 am which improves her game performance. The evening session also includes an understanding of her weakness and getting rid of them,” he said.