Smashing comeback

Malaysia-born Altona North resident and ace badminton player Renuga Veeran part of Commonwealth badminton team

Badminton star and Altona North resident Renuga Veeran came out of retirement last year in the hope of landing a spot on the Australian badminton team for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. She says when the call-up to the national team came, she was ecstatic. “Lucky enough my work was flexible, and boss supportive, said Veeran in an interview after the call. She is now working part-time at the moment while training for the Commonwealth Games.

“Everyone does it part-time in badminton, no one is really a full-time athlete unless they get enough sponsorship and funding from the government,” she said. “I’ve lost income and some of the tournaments I’ve had to pay for myself to play, but the thing is, there’s no regrets,” she added.

One of Australia’s finest badminton players for more than a decade, this will be the Malaysian-born player’s third Commonwealth Games, having represented Australia at Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014. The 31-year-old reached a career peak in London 2012 as a member of Australia’s Olympic Games team.

Veeran said that she thought she might come back for nationals or some local events, but never thought she would make a comeback for Australia. “It was a good opportunity for me to come back and be able to qualify to go to Gold Coast,” said Veeran, who also coaches at the Altona Badminton Centre and is still involved with Badminton Victoria. Veeran is still on the look-out for sponsors for the Commonwealth Games.