Interview
Shirzanan’s interview Raha Radafshar
Everyone is looking at us
Shirzanan: Elaheh Habibi /translated by Roja Najafi: In her birthday, Raha Radafshar, a member of women’s youth national badminton team, is leaving Tehran to Malaysia to participate in the Asian competitions (under 19). She is 16 years old and it is about three years that she is a member of the women’s national badminton team.
Among many of her achievements, in Bahrain she along with her team won the first place. Raha is one of the hopes of Iran in badminton. When I met her at her practice session she is practicing, wearing her Islamic athletic clothing. She says that she needs to get use to this outfit.
How old were you when you started Badminton?
Since I was in the forth grade; I was 9 years old when I entered the national badminton competitions and I was 13 when I joined the national youth team. I was the youngest member of the team.
How come you chose Badminton?
I am really athletic and I have done Karate, Basketball, Ping Pong and Badminton. I did gymnastics when I was 5 years old. I chose Badminton among them all because I like it the most.
Does weight and height matter in badminton?
In some of the techniques, tallness is important: but in general the smaller you are the better you can move in the court. I am 52 K, and 160 Cm. almost all of the team is in the same size.
How old are you? How do you handle your studies?
I am in second grade in high school. I study math and physics; I am not bad on my studies. I go to school until 3 pm and then my practices start at 4 pm to 7 pm. I get tired and it makes it hard for me to study, so my GPA is not great. We have two sessions of practice a day one in the morning one in the afternoon.
Are your parents active in sports as well?
My mom is an orthodontist and my father is a civil engineer. My mom practices Judo, when she was younger she got the third place in the national league. My Aunts also play professionally one is a badminton player the other is a ping-pong player. My father also does Karate. Sports are very important in my family.
Aren’t your parents concerned about your studies?
Yes, my mom always tells me that my studies should be a priority and then sports. I really try to do them both well.
Do you think it is costly for young people to start badminton?
No, I started by playing in public classes. For the first two years my parents would pay for my practices but then my coach introduced me to the coach of women’s national badminton team. I never went to private classes. In terms of equipment I should say our rackets are expensive now that I play professionally.
Tell us about your experiences international ones?
Well the Malaysian games are next week. And I also went to Bahrain and Vietnam.
Do you know your opponents? What cause your lost in Vietnam?
No, well we don’t go to so many international competitions. I think we should get used to our Islamic Athletic outfit. I get really hot and I cannot perform very well.
The other thing is that we should participate in more international competitions; the badminton federation sends the men’s team to many oversea competitions. We are the center of attention because of our outfits when we are outside Iran.
What is your main goal or wish?
I really like to perform well in the international fields. In China we were in a camp and all other countries practice 10 hours a day. We should practice more. In the preparatory camp in china we saw how others practice: I wish they could arrange more preparatory camps for our team.
Does your foreign coach wear veil?
No, among all other Muslim countries we are the only team who wears Hijab. Even Saudi Arabia’s team is not veiled.
Who is your rival or opponent in Iran?
There is another badminton player whose name is Hananeh Kabiry. She is really strong we go back and forth between the second and the first place.
But also in the team trials I became first; I won everyone except Pooneh; but since she had another lost she became second. So Pooneh Razavi, Molood Esmaily and I are going to Malaysia.
