CHALIHA Ashmita

General
COACH
She says she began taking training more seriously after beginning to work under coach Edwin Iriawan in 2018. "He has been helping me to work on my stamina and stroke. Before [him], I was not that serious. I used to skip stretching and warm-up. He knows that. He's a bit strict. He makes sure I do warm-ups, come on time. When I'm late for sessions, I get punishments, like 20 push-ups, sometimes I stand for 20 minutes facing the wall." (The Bridge YouTube channel, 01 Feb 2020; sportstar, 15 Feb 2019; indianexpress, 02 Dec 2018)

NO PRESSURE
She says being compared to Indian badminton players such as Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu motivates her. "I won't say [it's] pressure, but it motivates me to work harder and be the best. I'm aware of what people expect of me, becoming the next Saina or Sindhu I guess. I still have a long way, age wise too maybe. I'd like to be true to myself. Though I did lose a lot of time to the [COVID-19] lockdown [in 2020] and there are days when I feel low. In recent years [speaking in 2022], I know I've put in a lot more hard work than I ever did before. I need to play more international tournaments." (espn, 12 Jan 2022; The Bridge YouTube channel, 01 Feb 2020; sportstar, 26 Oct 2018)

OCCUPATION
She has worked as a human resource officer for the Indian Oil Corporation. (Facebook profile, 01 Sep 2020; Indian Oil Corporation Facebook page, 14 Jul 2020; assamtribune, 01 Jan 2018)