Dubai resident elated as daughter fulfils her Olympic dream
Dubai-born badminton player Tanisha Crasto has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, according to reports in Indian media.
The 20-year-old Indian doubles star and her partner Ashwini Ponnappa booked their place at the Paris Olympics on the back of their consistent performances.
Only the world's top 16 doubles pairs earn the right to compete at the Olympic Games.
The 34-year-old Ponnappa, a former World Championship bronze medallist, and Crasto, have climbed up to the 20th position in world rankings.
Despite losing their round of 16 clash at the ongoing Asian Badminton Championships in China on Thursday, they became the 12th eligible pair for a place in the Paris Olympics (July 26-August 11).
According to the reports in the Times of India and khel.com, Ponnappa and Tanisha mathematically confirmed their place in Paris after other contenders for the Olympic places lost their respective matches at the Asian Badminton Championships.
Clifford Crasto, Tanisha's father who quit his job and put his life savings at stake to help her become a professional shuttler, was over the moon. “It was a dream for us see Tanisha at the Olympics. She has worked very hard to reach this stage. We are very happy now,” the Dubai resident told the Khaleej Times over the phone from Mumbai.
A former Indian High School (Dubai) student, Tanisha was a teen prodigy in the UAE before she made the move to India, the country of her origin, in 2017.
A stint at the famous Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad propelled her to new heights as Tanisha soon broke into the Indian team.
The youngster hasn't looked back since.
“Tanisha and Ashwini (Ponnappa) only began playing together since January last year, they were not even in the top 100 when they started. It's amazing how far they have come since then,” Crasto said.
“Ashwini is a legend in Indian doubles, she is a world championship medallist, she is also a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games. We were so happy when a player of her stature wanted to partner with a youngster like Tanisha.
On the race to the Olympics, Ponnappa and Tanisha won three tournaments — Guwahati Masters Super 100, Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 and Nantes International Challenge.
Their other notable results came in the Syed Modi Super 300 and Odisha Open Super 100 where they reached the finals and they also made the semifinals at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 and the quarterfinals at the Malaysia Open Super 1000 and Spain Masters Super 300.
In a bid to make the Olympics, they moved up steadily in the world rankings.
“Olympic was their goal and they have done this together. As a father, I could not be happier because Olympics was always Tanisha's dream and it was my dream to see her at the Olympics.”