Rishav Sharma: Airdrie's Para-Badminton Star

In this episode of Airdrie Inside, Chris Glass sits down with Rishav Sharma—Team Canada para-badminton athlete, double gold medalist, and founder of the Rocky View Badminton Academy. Rishav’s story is a masterclass in moving from "doubt" to "gold." From being told he couldn't play in India to training in the back of a shop in Fort St. John, Rishav has spent his life framing a solution to the limits others placed on him.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

In India, like there's a lot of uh like the government pays a lot of money for the for the players, right? Even uh the the player the tournament we play, they they get their food, their everything is paid by the government, and even if they win the the medal, like they're probably gonna get like fifty thousand dollars or a hundred thousand dollars. But it's a different story in in Canada and like especially in badminton. Like we're struggling and we're still growing, so the funding is another problem. And people been telling me there's no money in uh in badminton. Why why why do you why do you do that? Why why do you invest so much yourself into that? It's like it's not about money. Like it's I'm not doing that for money, it's it's for my passion. And uh I I like in 20 years when I will be like 55 and 60, and uh I cannot have this re dream again. Uh I cannot tell myself, hey, let's uh let's start preparing for uh Olympics again.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Airdrie Inside. I am your host, Chris Glass. We are here at Rival Axe once again. Uh, if you haven't been to this facility, check it out. You can throw axes downstairs, you can play billiards, they have uh Dart Knight that's going great, live music, and some of the best old fashions in the game. So please come on down to RivalAxe and check things out. I am here with Rishav Sharma. Rishov, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

Thank you so much. Thank you so much for inviting me to the show today.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

And Britain had me a little bit nervous because he said roll the R. So I was hoping I got that. You got it perfect. Perfect. Uh so why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Yeah, my name is Rishav, and uh I'm a parabinton athlete and uh a badminton coach. I founded Rocky View Badminton Academy and uh yeah, teaching kids and uh playing professional badminton for Team Canada.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

So uh we are filming uh today, we have three Team Canada athletes in three different sports hockey, bamminton, and uh heptathlon. So uh this is pretty exciting. So it's a Team Canada day today. Glad to be part of that. So let's talk a little bit about how you got into badminton.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

So yeah, back in uh so I'm originally from India. I was born in uh born in India and then uh started playing there and uh was part of uh Indian national team and then uh moved to Canada in 2016. Uh I you I don't know if you know, I moved to a a town named uh Fort St. John. Yes, yes, so I lived in Fort St. John for almost eight years. So yeah, so that was a big uh jump going from a full-time at uh athlete to Fort St. John St. John, yeah. With with no badminton at all. So so there was uh I've I managed to find a facility or like a club, uh so I used to play there. But uh so yeah, that was a that was a big change, but uh I kept playing and then I started playing for uh Canada once I moved here, and then uh yeah, uh since then I'm part of the team and now I'm a Canadian citizen, so allowed to play more uh uh championship and the world championships and Pan Am games uh tournaments like that.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

So when did you become a Canadian citizen?

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Uh 2022.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Oh, congratulations. Okay relatively recent. Yeah, very recent, yeah. Oh, what a what a great game for our national team. That's excellent. We got a free agent. Yeah, I know. So uh when you were in India, uh when did you start playing bamminton? When did that start clicking clicking for you?

SPEAKER_00 3:17

So uh I was in uh uh I would say I was 11 years old, and uh in my school there's uh like kids were playing badminton and uh and I've I was walking by, I've seen people playing badminton, so I wanted to give it a try. And uh I asked my school teacher, hey, can I can I give it a bamington? But in the beginning it was really hard. Being a par like a person with a disability, they there was always uh a doubt. Can you you can't really play? It's a sport, you have to be you can't really play with one arm. So that was a big challenge at the beginning, but uh I I was like it's like I have to give it a try. So I yeah, I I said, can I maybe be a spare fifth sphere player on your team? And then the my coach did the trials and uh yeah, I was uh I was part of my team and uh in the in the next next year I actually uh managed to beat my old captain and uh stayed the school uh school captain for the remaining years and then uh ran the team there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

And now how old were you when you moved to Fort St. John?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Uh 19.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

19. So just as you're in your prime as an athlete, you you moved to a new country and then you move to a city that uh has a much smaller community when it comes to Bamatin, I would assume.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

Absolutely. Yeah, it was a uh so in India I was training like almost uh six hours a day, six days a week before school, after school, before college, after school, and um shifting that from uh six hours uh four hours a week. So that's one Wednesday, two uh Wednesday night two hours and Sunday night two hours with the small community club and not that much like training and stuff. So it was a it was a big shift.

SPEAKER_01 4:50

First of all, did anybody beat you in Fort St. John?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Did you win every match with your experience level or uh so uh like there was one uh one guy, his name uh Gene Johnston, he he was he was he was the best guy uh in in uh in Fort St. John with Bavinton and uh yeah, and he actually ended up being my coach for those eight years. Oh wow. So yeah, he he had his little project on me training in the gym, and uh in the summertime when the school closed, we uh uh he worked in a in a shop, so we actually used his uh uh sh uh warehouse back, and then uh in the summertime when the school was closed, he managed to set up a badminton net in the back. So I was playing whole summer in the back of a shop, and then uh two months later in September, I was playing a international tournament in Japan. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

So when did the international side come in to play in Canada? So you said that you he coached you for eight years there. Uh when did you start playing uh at the provincial national level?

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Uh so in Canada, my first international tournament I played in 2017. So as a uh international like as a resident of Canada, I was allowed to play represent Canada and um in the tournaments, but not the world championships and stuff. So I was still representing Canada in tournaments. So the first my my first tournament in 2017 was in uh Colorado Springs, uh, USA. So there played the f uh represented first time uh Canada. And the thing was once you represent a country, uh you cannot switch back for the next five years. Oh and I realized and I didn't know that. So after playing my first internal international tournaments and then uh and then they announced Paralympic uh Bamminton is going in Paralympics in 2020, and that was uh I was like, now there's no way back. Oh wow, so so yeah, and then uh since then I was I've been uh part of the team and then we've been playing representing uh Canada. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

So in 2020, were you able to represent Canada in the Paralympics?

SPEAKER_00 6:44

I didn't actually participate in the Paralympics in 2020, and uh because of uh uh I I was an artist citizen and um it's it takes a it's a long journey for in especially in all the sports to to to get more points and get qualified for Olympics, but uh now uh now the goal is for 2028 LA.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Okay. And so what is the preparation for that now? Because now you live in Airdrie. Yes. Uh you work in Cochrane, yes. Uh, but Airdrie is a much larger uh place and and you're you're closer to Calgary, which has more training facilities. What does your training look like for 2028 right now?

SPEAKER_00 7:20

Uh so um I'm now part of uh a club, uh Glencoe Club in Calgary. Yeah, so they they have like best coaches in I would say in the city, and um I'm lucky to be part of their club and uh now I'm just training uh with the coaches there. Um I go do even this morning at my morning session, six to eight, and then uh I go to work from there, and then I come back in the evening. I coach in uh Air Tree. I run the Rocky View Bamington Academy. So I run uh classes in Cochrane, Airdrie, and Carstairs. So uh today uh I've I've trained in the in this in downtown in this morning, went to work Cochrane, and then uh now going to Carstairs for the coaching kids.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

So my question for you is what kind of car do you drive? What kind of fuel mileage do you get? Because you were going downtown, Cochrane, Carstairs, Airdrie. You're driving a lot.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

That's true, but uh so I have two, one gas and one electric. Ah, there you go. So so right now I'm really happy with the EV I'm driving.

SPEAKER_01 8:19

I was gonna say that that makes uh that makes good sense to have an EV as much as you drive.

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Yeah, but uh so trying my best to to to play more uh do more training sessions in a week. And uh when I'm not uh coaching or working in the weekends, I spark with other other players in the city and uh do a couple hour training with them.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

So tell me a little bit about the Rocky View Academy.

SPEAKER_00 8:40

So yeah, in 2023 when I moved to Air Tree and uh I noticed there was a lot of badminton clubs in in Calgary, that's tons. And uh just around the Calgary, like in Rocky View area, we didn't really have badminton, many badminton places for the kids to play. There might be some there were some places for adults to go and do drop-ins, but nothing really for the kids. So um so I I came up with the idea because I I didn't want to offer the program just in Air Tree because I see there was no bamington in Cochrane, there was no badminton in Carstairs, so I so I uh so I named the club Rocky Bavington Academy, and I was like, okay, I live in Airdrie, I'll coach in Airdrie, I work in Cochrane, I coach in Cochrane, and then uh then Carstair came in my mind because some of the players were uh parents were coming, bringing their kids from Carstairs to Air Tree, and they asked, Hey, can you do your lessons in Carstays? I said, Tuesdays are free, so so I uh so I managed to add Tuesdays for Carstays. So yeah, it's been it's been going good. Uh I would say with the Rocky View Bamington Academy, I have about uh 80 to 85 players, including three cities, so and uh coaching Monday, Tuesday pretty much all the week.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Now is that uh for beginners or is that for uh high power, like a high profile?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

So uh it's where yeah, so right now it's uh it's mostly beginner to intermediate level. Uh in air tree, um now I'm uh because in the 2023 it was mostly just a beginner, and now I have more players and I have players been playing with me, so now I have a competitive group as well. So competitive group is a different one from the beginner. So every uh two uh two classes a week for the competitive and also for the beginner. So I do coaching uh for the kids eight to sixteen years old. If um anybody who don't never even play badminton, they're also welcome. And even if they have a like a provincial experience or any any competitive level experience, they're also welcome. And yeah, so very cool.

SPEAKER_01 10:37

So you are a busy man. So training for 2028, training athletes to potentially compete in 2028 as well. Um where does love bamatin come from? Because you you wouldn't be doing this if you didn't love the sport.

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Totally, yeah. So uh I always loved this sport and uh um uh like I grew up playing this sport and uh and when I when I moved to Canada, this was the thing I noticed, like Bampton wasn't really like it's still it's still getting it's now getting very popular and uh but it it can be much bigger. So my goal is uh goal is to make this sport as big as I can and uh make it available in the like for everybody, for small kids, small communities, and uh that's why my my goal is uh to just spread the bampton for anyone, uh even for the like I sometimes parents said hey like I I he don't even have a racket said just just send your kid, I'll have a racket ready for him. Yeah, so so that's that's the my goal. Uh goal is to the the the sport that gave me everything, and uh that's that's who I am right now, and that's why I like I I want this sport to be uh like grown in the in the in the future. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

That's really cool. What what is the biggest tournament you've played at? What is uh the highest level you've been at? Uh I know 2028's the goal, but where what's the highest you've been at so far?

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Uh so last year, October, I uh I represented Canada in the Pan Am Badminton Championships. Uh it was in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That was my first Pan Ams. And uh I got two goals. Uh oh wow. Yeah, I go I go uh uh golden singles and uh golden doubles too. And uh I remember playing the final against the Brazil team, and it was the home crowd. So and I was telling myself, I don't want to look at the crowd.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

Yeah, and Brazil's not known for passive fans on anything, they're very passionate people.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

They are very passionate people. It was it was a very good experience playing against the home team and uh a hundred of play a hundred of uh audience just uh supporting Brazil and there are like five Canadians go Canada. That was that was really good, and uh yeah, so that was one of the big ones. And uh recently in February I played uh uh Parabintan World Championships in Bahrain. So so I was in Bahrain in February, so I got lucky. I left on 15th. Yeah, it's good timing. Good timing, good timing, yeah. Lucky, yeah. So and that was uh that was my uh second world championships. I played first one in 2022, and this one was my second world championship I played uh for Canada, and it was a it was a great experience.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

Now, getting to Los Angeles, what's next? So 2027, is that the qualify qualifying year, or does that qualification process start now?

SPEAKER_00 13:20

So it is actually now it's going on right now, like more tournaments we play, more more points I I'll get, and then uh eventually uh those points will decide uh who's who qualified and who's not. So uh it is a it is like a kind of every every month there's a tournament, and with the busy schedule with work and uh coaching, I'm uh I'm uh I'm kind of juggling things around and uh whichever tournaments I can make it, and uh so uh so my next one I'm planning on going to uh like uh France in June. And there's another couple in Brazil again in uh Peru. So so kind of making a list ahead of the years. This is my 2025 tournaments, and then uh next year will be 2027, and then the the yeah, it's it's just an ongoing process, and uh cutoff will be uh I would say close to end of the 2027.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

Now, who are your competitors in Canada? Who are we competing against?

SPEAKER_00 14:14

Uh so in Canada, in Parabinton, uh like we don't really have many uh players in uh in my category, but uh so but uh in the I would say if outside of Canada in the on the world stage, uh mostly Asian countries like I would say like China, Japan, yeah, even India. So um so when I was in India, I was playing again, like I was training there, and uh so and now when when I go to uh compete those tournaments, I see my old buddies from India. And it was funny one time, I think uh last time uh last year in Japan, I played against my old buddy from India, and then uh it was uh he kind of laughed at me, said yeah, we are repeating this game after eight, ten years. Now who won? Uh I won. Yeah, there you go. That's that's good.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

Go team Canada. I like it.

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Yeah, yeah. So it was it was very good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

Excellent. So uh, and then after 2028, I know that's kind of a lofty goal. Uh, where do you see the Rocky View Academy going?

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Uh goal is to uh make this club bigger and uh have more availability. So because right now, like I have parents reaching out, and the only problem I'm running into is just the venue and the timing. So my goal is to uh because right now it's just me, uh the goal is to add more team members and instructors, and uh so more days, more space for for players to play. And then uh it's uh my it's just kind of running a Bampton network in Rocky View. And uh, even now I'm trying to do a mini tournament once a year, uh Eirdrie versus Cochrane and Karstys, and so kids coming from those communities, and it gives a very different feeling for them. Oh, I'm coming from Team Cochrane, I'm team Eardry. So building this little competition in the little kids and giving them the opportunity to interact with the uh players from the community other communities. Uh so yeah, so that's that's my goal is to keep pushing the badminton in the community.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

What do you think the biggest challenge the sports sport is facing?

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Uh overall in uh in Canada?

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Either locally or in Canada, uh either way, uh however you interpret that question.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

So I would say like uh on my uh currently with my current experience, uh the struggle is uh it's it's scheduling and finalizing the space because uh we're renting the school gyms and the the tech centers, and uh of course there are a lot of other sports, they're also trying to get the space with the limit. It's very competitive. I have to uh for next year's winter session, I have to prepare now and uh look for the dates to see if the facility is available. And um, yeah, so that's that's one of the the go or one of the struggle I face right now.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

And uh and you said mostly school gyms and the rec centers. And rec centers. Excellent. So uh hopefully with uh new rec center centers coming online. I I don't know what Cochrane has in the go, but I know we have the Southwest Rec Center coming online here in 2029.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

So hopefully that opens up some more gym space. Absolutely looking forward to that. I'm actually very glad. That way we will have one in the north end of the city and then the one will be in the south now.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

Absolutely. Uh so where can people go to find uh more information about yourself uh and your journey? And where can people find information about the Rocky View Academy?

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Uh so we're on Facebook and Instagram, and uh they can Google the Rocky View Bamington Academy and uh yeah, we we post lessons instructions for the kids how to learn what we're doing, what tournaments are coming, what programs are coming. Uh they're all on our social media page. And uh also my I have my own uh Facebook and Instagram and uh where I post my my journey and uh my past uh uh tournaments and uh future coming ones. Yeah. Excellent.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

Well, uh on behalf of the show, I I wish you the best of luck. I know all of Eridry is behind you, and soon all of Canada will be behind you in 2028.

SPEAKER_00 17:57

I'm glad to hear that. Thank you so much for for your for the opportunity to be to be here today.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Well, thank you so much for being on the show, and we're gonna be back with more great episodes coming up shortly.