Her style, her stroke-play, her grace finally took Malvika Bansod, the darling of Nagpur city, to the top position in Indian women’s badminton. She now stands on the top of pyramid in senior Indian women’s singles category. Even though she had been India No 2, everybody who knew the game also knew that she was destined to occupy the top spot sooner than later.

In the latest rankings issued by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), the southpaw has bettered the second spot she has been holding for a long, long time.

She was India No 2 since 2019 but as there were no tournaments due to COVID, the players were static at their respective places. Her latest triumph in the VV Natu Memorial All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament in Pune last Sunday helped her gain those crucial points that helped her jump one rung to the top.

Of course, her rise to the top spot has been meteoric. As if until yesterday she was just a debutant. Today, she is a name to reckon with not just in Indian badminton, but also in the wider world of racquet-and-shuttle-cock. Thanks to the fact of India being a world power in badminton, the occupants of India’s top spots in all categories often attract global glare. The city’s very own little one Malvika Bansod, thus, now stands basking in that sort of international glare -- having just begun her journey in the numero uno position.

Malvika is not new to the numero uno position. In the Under-19 category, she was India No 1.

Malvika’s graduation from junior to senior level was simply electric. She grabbed Maldives International and Nepal International golds on debut. She picked Bahrain International bronze, Uganda International gold, Lithuania International gold, Syed Modi Super 300 silver, Odisha Open Super 100 bronze and Italian International silver.

Malvika represented India in Uber Cup and led the team to quarters. She also led the team in Sudirman Cup.

Early in the year, Malvika, who grew up idolising Saina Nehwal, became just the second Indian player after PV Sindhu to beat the Indian legend in domestic or international circuit since 2007.

Malvika celebrated the top position winning her opening round match at Hylo Open Super 300 Saarbrucken in Germany on Wednesday. She ousted BWF ranked 36 Clara Azurmendi of Spain in three tough games. After going down 20-22 in the first game, Malvika bounced back in style to tame the better-rated rival winning the next games 21-12, 21-6. The battle lasted 50 minutes. She plays Scotland’s seventh seed Kirsty Gilmour in the pre-quarter-final.

Malvika could not be contacted for her comments.

Spain’s Carolina Marin is the top seed while Saina and Akarshi Kashyap are other Indians in the fray.

As brilliant prospects lay ahead in Malvika’s career in the rarefied world of excellence, what will help her most is her felicity and facility of being a left-handed player. Her grace comes from the left arm, and her surprise also stems from it. When she is on the court, sparkling and sparking, Malvika presents a wall of odds to her rival. Seeing her play is a rare treat, say the fans who have at some time toyed with the racquet.