Sport - Junior badminton player Rivaldo Soni’s preparations for the South African Under-15 Championships next month received a boost after he recently won the singles and doubles titles in the KwaZulu-Natal Regional Badminton Tournament.
The Durban High School Grade 9 pupil has been flying the provincial colours across the country since Grade 6 and in April he will target national honours in Bloemfontein.
For the doubles, he partnered with Keval Ramchander for the first time and secured top spot in the regional event at the KZN Badminton Hall.
The Umgeni Road venue is like a second home for Rivaldo, who was introduced to the sport by his older brother, Renaldo.
The Morningside resident saw his talent blossom at Morningside Primary.
Now, given regular sessions with KZN Badminton coaches Emelda and Ivan Botha, his game has shifted to a higher level.
In addition to the provincial coaching, and game time with the DHS team, this year Rivaldo joined a club.
That further honed his skills, according to his father, Roshan.
“This is the first year he is with a club, the Asheville Badminton Club. It means he gets more court time and plays daily except on Fridays and Sundays. Every other day he’s on the court, playing and getting training under the school and KZN coaches.
"He just loves it and, given half a chance, will pick up a racket,” said Soni.
“He’s very driven and motivated, and would like to aim at the Olympic Games. His thinking is that if he’s playing the sport competitively, he might as well aim for the highest,” Soni added.
Another KwaZulu-Natal badminton player, Mikaeel Mirza, was recently included in the National Emerging Squad.
Mirza also attended DHS and, besides captaining the school’s squash and badminton first teams, twice won the South African Schools Championship.