You may know her as that crazy, hot, somewhat hipster girl doing sexy dance moves at squash parties. But there’s something you don’t know about Chandler Lusardi. A hidden talent for which the press had to go through many trials and tribulations to get all the juicy details:
She can kick your ass at badminton. Chandler began playing this illustrious sport at around the age of nine or ten. She was a key member on the varsity badminton team at Chapin, her high school. Pretty cool, considering I don’t know about you, but my high school didn’t offer badminton of any kind. Chandler’s greatest inspiration in her badminton gameis her old coach, Clement Ogbo “from Africa. When he was training to go pro, he would train by running through the forests. He couldn’t ever stop running, because if he did, the cheetahs would attack him.”
In Chandler’s very last competitive badminton match ever, she was competing for first place in the AAIS (athletic league her school competed in) championship. She was defending champ, having won the championship the year before. The pressure was on, but Chandler did not cave. She maintained her infamously ever-chill-on-court demeanor, and seized the championship for the second year in a row. Winning the championship made her feel “great”. She looks back on winning that match as the most exciting and glorious moment of her badminton career.
“I feel like I’m Asian because I play badminton. Asians are known to champion the sport, so it makes sense that I was on top, because of my Asian origin,” says Chandler. Badminton has had a positive influence on her life in many ways. The sport helped to inspire a good work ethic in Chandler. It also helped her transition into squash, which she picked up to help get her into college. Squash is now Chandler’s main sport, and you can find her at the top of the women’s squash ladder, hitting trick shots like a BAMF. Squash also enhanced Chandler’s badminton game. “Squash made me good at badminton because my backhand improved. Most players play just with a forehand.” This gave Chandler an edge on the competitive badminton scene.
When Chandler is not whacking a ball with a racket, she enjoys spend quality bonding time with her squash teammate and wearing hipster sweaters.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Amherst chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.