“Sometimes you don’t play up to the mark, and you win even then.”

Nagpur to Kanyakumari and Kashmir, future Olympic medallists can come from anywhere. It is the passion that drives you, not the city, provided you get enough facilities.

I had once thought I would become a doctor but gave up on the thought soon enough. I took up the racquet instead. Later, when I saw my sister studying so much to become a doctor, I was like, ‘Thank God I am a shuttler!’

Previously, people were like, ‘She might win the tournament,’ but now it’s like, ‘She should win the tournament.’

My parents have been volleyball players, and my dad is an Arjuna awardee in volleyball.

Playing for Hyderabad Hunters is a very good feeling.

The year 2017 has been really good for me. Definitely, a lot of positive things to learn from.

Win or lose, I always focus only on giving my 100%.

My period days didn’t make me falter: they made me more determined to pursue my dreams.

Saina is not someone special player that I have to win against. It’s not like that I must beat her. She is one of the players.

I will keep working on different aspects of my games. It’s not so easy, and I need to work on every stroke.

I am aggressive only on court.

You have to keep working all the time. How much you learn, there is always room for learning; you will have to keep improving all the time.

My coaches have always been on my side, motivating me to try harder and harder every day, which is not easy.

You can’t compare one tournament with another.

Winning a tournament at the end of the year boosts your confidence a lot.

It’s always good to win a title.

The best time to expand is when people are asleep at the wheel.

The reason literacy is important is that literature is the operating instructions. The best manual we have. The most useful guide to the country we’re visiting, life.

Since we live in this world, we have to do our best for this world.

I had some money, I made the best paintings ever.

Life is an adventure that is best lived boldly

The past is so reliable, so delightful and the best place to live.

Federalism is the best curb on democracy. [It] assigns limited powers to the central government. Thereby all power is limited. It excludes absolute power of the majority.

I’ve always felt that blues, rock ‘n’ roll and country are just about a beat apart.