Senior badminton star Nicole Krawczyk resumed competing for Palo Alto High School after a one year hiatus, having left due to burnout and returning because she missed badminton.
Krawczyk said her return was due to her love for the sport and watching the story of Olympic-winning figure skater Alyssa Liu.
“I’m just doing it for the love of the game, and when I heard about her [Alyssa Liu’s] story I was thinking we had a lot of similarities … When she said she was coming back for herself, it inspired me because I look back at my past games and realize I really love this sport,” Krawczyk said.
Krawczyk was a nationally ranked badminton player, competing in the Pan Am Badminton tournament twice as a sophomore in Spokane, Washington, and as a junior in China.
According to Krawczyk, she began playing badminton in second grade and took a break one year ago due to pressure from family and coaches.
“I was expected to go to every practice and also do hours of additional practice, while I also had to balance school,” Krawczyk said. “Eventually it felt like I was doing it more for them than myself, and I really didn’t like that, so I decided to quit.”
On March 23, at home in one of the first league games, Krawczyk defeated Matador Aanya Latkar from Monta Vista, winning three points for Paly. Krawczyk said that she performed well both offensively and defensively.
“I did well on my smashes because I’m normally a very offensive player so I win most of my matches by attacking,” Krawczyk said. “My defense was pretty good, but without a lot of training, I felt a little rusty. But I’m sure the feeling will come to me.”
Paly badminton coach, Gabriel Fossati-Bellani, said that Krawczyk plays with a similar style to top players.
“Her playing style is very strong,” Fossati-Bellani said. “She moves around great and hits really hard. It’s comparable to the top playing styles of badminton around the world.”
Badminton matches are made up of three sets to 21 points. Krawczyk won 21- 6 both sets by establishing early leads, outplaying her opponent through a mix of well-timed smashes and light drop shots — shots that barely go over the net, and force the opponent to run to hit them.
The match was made up of strong spikes, with only short rallies. Often, a point ended after just two or three hits.
Latkar said she was thrilled to play against Krawczyk and treated it as a learning experience.
“I was excited because I want to know how it is to play against people at different skill levels,” Latkar said. “I can only learn and get better from here.”
Fossati-Bellani has high hopes for Krawczyk through the rest of the season.
“She’s a great player, and we hope she can play out the rest of the season and into the leagues, CCS and the state championship,” Fossati-Bellani said.
Krawczyk is now looking forward to being back playing badminton and is excited about recovering her talent.
“For the rest of the season, I’m looking forward to rediscovering my love for badminton,” Krawczyk said. “During the game, I felt pretty relaxed because I had a strong lead, so I was more focused on having fun and getting my skills back.”
Upcoming games can be found on the Paly Athletic Calendar, and the Vikings (3-4) are set to play the Homestead Mustangs at 5 p.m. Tuesday at home.
Editor’s note: no information was found for the Mustangs’ record
