Girik Narang
Award Level:
Bronze
Favourite memory of the Award:
The best part of the award was seeing all my progress and hard work show in my results. Week after week, having to figure out specific goals and make improvements to my game was so worth it in the long run, which I would not have been able to do without the award. I went from being an average player to winning dozens of tournaments and beating people I've previously lost to, all in a span of a few months, thanks to the award motivating me to do better. However, my favorite memory by far was winning the ROPSSAA tournament in which I competed with students in Ontario and placed second overall, which I would never have imagined being able to do before starting the award
Age:
16
Biggest challenge from doing the Award:
The biggest challenge for me was trying to fulfill all my goals. At the end of each challenge, I found that I was overestimating myself when it came to accomplishing my goals, which is why I ended up spending a few extra weeks than initially anticipated for some areas. Although it was good to push myself to do better and achieve more, I realized that I needed to have more attainable goals and more realistic expectations from myself.
Country:
Canada
Have you continued any of your Award activities? If so, what:
I have remained committed to both tennis and the guitar after the award, as both have become significant parts of my life and have given me something fun to look forward to!
Tell us the story behind your photo:
During the pandemic in 2020, I had reached the peak of boredom, tiredness, and sluggishness. I needed something to keep me busy and look forward to during this time. That's when I started playing tennis. For the first few months, I was just playing for fun since I didn't have anything else to do. Suddenly I began to pick up the sport and beat people who had years of experience on me. The only issue was that I didn't have a structure for my practices. It seemed like every time I stepped on the court, I had no idea what I wanted to work on. Lucky for me, all that changed thanks to DukeofEd. Once I started logging my sessions, I realized that I wasn't being intentional about what I was doing. I didn't have concrete goals or critical weaknesses that I was working on. Fast forward four months, and I'm playing tournament after tournament and feeling more motivated than ever! Being able to log everything and actually think about what I needed to work on was a game-changer, and I'm so thankful to the award for that.
Award Role:
Participant
Video Link:
