As a little girl, Andrea Sarah Kurien used to accompany her elder sister Melanie for bhartanatyam classes at Kalamassery in Kochi. But more than dance, she was excited when she saw little children chasing ‘birds’ in the next hall where Antony K. Jacob was running a badminton academy during weekends.
“Andrea learned bharatanatyam for a year with her sister and then they both joined the badminton academy. And Andrea continued with the sport when Antony started a regular academy at Kakkanad,” said Priya Kurien, Andrea’s mother.
Andrea is 16 now, and head coach Antony Jacob and junior coach Arun Sanjeev have moulded her into a fine player at the Bright Sports Antony’s Academy. The young girl won the under-17 State title and made her State senior debut memorable by adding the women’s title in Thrissur on Saturday.
