Amrutha’s new doubles partnership clicks

Bengaluru

Amrutha Pramuthesh’s recent victory in her home city of Bengaluru highlighted two significant developments in her career – a promising new doubles partnership with Likhitha Srivastava and her rise to the No. 2 spot in the country in the women’s doubles rankings. Earlier, Amrutha had partnered Sonali Singh.

However, the partnership ended when Sonali wanted Amrutha to join her academy so they could train together. Amrutha chose to remain at her current training base, Arise, and eventually reached the Karnataka Badminton Association (KBA) in Bengaluru on the day of the tournament without a women’s doubles partner.

“Since the split, I had been searching for partners. Word spread around, and Likhitha was there at the National Championship and approached me. We decided to play together and give it a shot for at least a season,” Amrutha said. “We had practised only twice before the match. It was a new partnership and we went in without too many expectations, but I think it clicked really well and worked out,” she added. The duo went on to win the tournament.

Amrutha’s mixed doubles partner is the more experienced Ashith Surya, whom she respectfully refers to as “Anna”. The pair have enjoyed success together and are currently ranked 37 in the world, with their goal this year being to climb higher in the rankings. “Me and Ashith anna started playing three years ago. At that time I wasn’t playing this well and was still an upcoming player. He had returned from Switzerland to India and wanted to compete, so we started playing together,” Amrutha recalled.

She added that their first international tournament together was at the Infosys event held at PPBA, where they reached the semi-finals – a result that marked the beginning of a strong partnership. While she acknowledged that the pair have had their share of disagreements on court, Amrutha said Ashith has consistently guided her and helped improve her game. With greater experience now, she feels more confident sharing her opinions during matches, even though he usually takes the lead in the partnership.

Amrutha is also coached by several accomplished players, including Vaibhav, whom she credits with significantly improving her performance. According to him, her net play stands out as a defining strength that makes her an effective doubles partner. He has also worked on strengthening her defence and smashes in recent months. However, Vaibhav believes Amrutha’s greatest asset is her commitment to the sport.

“Badminton is always her first priority. Whenever I call her for training, no matter where she is, she cancels her plans and comes,” Vaibhav said. Her dedication also helped her navigate difficult phases in her career. At one stage, Amrutha’s father had warned her not to pursue badminton if it affected her studies. She recalled that Christ University was unable to provide the flexibility she needed to balance academics and sport.

Amrutha eventually moved to REVA University, which proved far more supportive of her sporting ambitions. The change helped convince her father to back her career in badminton. After taking her first break in two years, Amrutha has now returned to training and is looking forward to both national and international tournaments, where she hopes to improve her rankings and win more medals.