Rishav Sharma is a force when it comes to para-badminton, and the Fort St. John badmintonist will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Sport For Life Summit in Prince George this month.
Sharma is president and head coach at the Peace Region Badminton Club, and has won multiple gold and bronze medals at national and international tournaments. At the summit being held April 14 and 15, he will address an audience on how his life was impacted by badminton and speak about his life as an immigrant.
Kim Feragen of Engage Sport North, the host partner for the event, says Sharma embodies the ideals the organization is working to inspire in northern B.C.
“During his talk, delegates will be taken on a journey from his promising beginnings in India all the way to his impressive accomplishments here in Canada," Feragen said in a news release.
"All along the way he displayed a single-mindedness and dedication that can’t help but inspire everyone in attendance. He shows us that it’s not about the obstacles you face, but about the strength you find within yourself to overcome them.”
Sharma recently competed at the world para-badminton championships in Tokyo in November, while his youth athletes in the local club won seven medals at the B.C. Winter Games in Vernon last month.
“I would say personally, my experience is if you love something, whatever the situation is, no matter where you are and even if out of 1,000 people you’re the only person who loves that thing, if you keep loving it and keep doing that thing that you’re good at, then that’s your passion,” Sharma said in a statement.
“You have to set your goal to the end, and that goal should never be finished. Once you reach step one, then you need to continue to the next step the day right after that. As a newcomer to Canada I have been through tough times, because as a student I had to pay my tuition while working 20 hours a week and I had to make sure I was not getting away from my passion and that was a real struggle.”
