Raja Muhammad Hasnain, the eldest of ‘Raja brothers’, was born on 22nd January 1998 in Rawalpindi. He grew up in Hafizabad, where he completed his schooling. His father, Raja Muhammad Zafran, was a passionate Badminton player and wished his child would become the National Badminton player of Pakistan. In his childhood days, he used to go to the badminton court with his father, knocking the shuttle against the wall for several hours waiting for his turn. He only got a chance to knock for a few minutes with his father’s friends after waiting for a long time. The friends of Hasnain's father used to be amazed to see such a child playing surprisingly so well.
As his father saw Raja Hasnain's developing love for Badminton, he also played a vital role, being his Badminton coach. He started to train him at a local club for competitive badminton and took assistance of a professional coach, Malik Hamid, who also belonged to Hafizabad. Moreover, when his father was satisfied with his basic training, he made Hasnain participate in All Punjab Under 14 and Under 15 in 2007, where Hasnain impressed everyone by becoming the champion. This achievement made his father believe that he could be an asset for his country. His father made sure that Hasnain did not lack any facilities as a professional athlete.
However, Raja Hasnain had to bear the loss of his father in 2011 when he passed away due to heart attack on 18th May. Losing his father at such a young age was not easy for him to digest and being the eldest of his brothers, responsibilities kept on increasing. However, he did not want to shatter the dreams of his father and during his mission he also involved his two younger brothers and trained them along with him.
Just like it is said, hard work leads to great things. Raja Hasnain proved this, as the amount of work he put in led to him claiming the title of National Junior Champion (U-16) Singles and Doubles (with Wadood Amer) Champion in 2011 and he even defended his (U-16) Singles title the following year.
Furthermore, upon completing his Matric in 2012, he got enrolled in Government College Lahore and had to leave his widowed mother to continue his education and his passion. Admission in GC College proved to be vital for his Badminton career as he found the person that supported and is still supporting him throughout his badminton career. Raja Muhammad Hasnain got in touch with former National champion of Pakistan, Umer Zeeshan, who at that time was the official coach of the college. Umer Zeeshan, along with polishing the skills of his star, ensured that Raja Hasnain was fully equipped with an Ashaway Badminton kit. Knowing what Hasnain was capable of, he also let him lead the Badminton team of GC College. The day Hasnain was made the captain by his coach proved to be lethal for the other colleges and played an important role in lifting the trophy of Inter-Board Championship for 2 consecutive years (2013-2014).
Moreover, he not only performed at college level, but applied this training to perform at senior National circuit too. The first appearance he made on the Senior national circuit was at All Pakistan Ranking tournament at New Khan in 2012, where he managed to qualify for the main round but lost to Waqas Ahmed. However, Hasnain knew that he could not come on the 1st position that easily, so he had to accept this defeat. Similarly his coach, Umer Zeeshan made sure that his weaknesses were polished or he could not defeat his senior opponents.
Moving on, he participated in Yonex Sunrise Badminton Championship at Lahore in 2013, where he faced Waqas Ahmed again, who at that time was ranked top 5 in national circuit, in the first round, but this time Hasnain proved his mental strengths and beat Waqas Ahmed in rubber set. This victory was a threatening signal for his opponents. After graduating from Government College Lahore, he decided to stay under the supervision of his Coach, Umer Zeeshan. Thus, he took admission in the Government University Lahore and he proved his leading skills by remaining undefeated at Inter University Championships for 3 consecutive years (2015-2017). Furthermore, under his captaincy, Team Higher Education Commission (HEC) were crowned as bronze medallions in the National championship (Team event) for 3 consecutive years (2015-2017). During this time period, he didn't want his brother to lag behind, so he used to visit his home town on weekends to track their progress. However, as his number of supporters increased, so did his haters, who criticised him for coaching his brothers at such a young age. Jabir Zamir, a fellow Badminton lover, played a huge role as his supporter, accompanying him on his matches, motivating, ensuring he was on track, and always uplifted him through thick and thin.
However, he proved his haters wrong as he never dropped his ranking and went on to become an International player, representing Pakistan Badminton in World Universities like Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) in 2017. In the same year, Hasnain participated in the Quarter Final of Singles and Doubles (with Umer Zeeshan) of National Championship 2017. It is to be noted that he played International series in 2017 at his home ground, but faced a drawback; he had injured his lower back while practicing for the competition a day before.
The year 2018 came as a blessing for Raja Hasnain. After recovering from the lower back injury, he made a comeback in the National Championship 2018, defeating his idols Rizwan Azam/ Kashif Sulehri with his current partner (Atique Chaudhry) in Men’s Doubles Quarter finals and went on to stand at the podium as the Silver medalist of the National Championship. Additionally, he did not hold back in making his team (WAPDA) stand on the podium as the Champions. In 2018, his ranking improved and he became the 2nd Best Men’s Doubles player (with Atique Chaudhry).
The following year, he wore the Green kit and represented Pakistan in International series 2019 (Pakistan), where he reached Semifinals spot in Men’s Doubles. Moreover, the exposure he got from the International series helped him perform at South Asian games in Nepal, where he fell down, injuring his shoulder. However, Hasnain showed his mental capabilities, fighting for his country. He continued to play Men’s doubles Quarter Final, beating the Srilankan duo and was crowned Bronze medalist in both Individuals and Team category. This, according to him, is the most memorable and the major achievement of his career. From 2019 uptil now, Hasnain has maintained the 1st spot in Men's Doubles' Ranking and 7th spot in Men’s Singles.
Future Aims
Raja Hasnain is on a mission to improve his BWF Ranking by participating in International Tournaments every 4-5 years, with the aid of good sponsors.
Despite facing all the criticisms and obstacles in life, Raja Muhammad Hasnain has been successful in amazing us with his achievements. He not only focused on Badminton, but also gave importance to receiving education. Raja Hasnain completed his BSc(Hons) in Business, Accounting & Finance, along with managing Badminton. He set a perfect example for all the players out there trying to balance Game with Academics, proving the fact that if one is determined to achieve something, he can definitely do it.
Written by: Muhammad Anas Akhtar (Admin FBCOP)
Raja hasnain another shining star from my city.A very obedient and nice young personality proved himself in the field of Badminton.Raja keep it up a very bright future waiting to you.You are the role model for all of the youngster. Stay blessed my all prayers nd good wishes for upcoming challenges .
ReplyDelete