Tahir Ishaq is a six-time national badminton champion in his native Pakistan. He is basically a badminton legend.
Here in the United States, where Ishaq has lived since 2014, he is not quite on that level yet. But the 52-year-old East Brunswick resident is making a name for himself as a local badminton coach.
Ishaq coaches players of all ages at the New Jersey Badminton Club in Montville. And throughout 2018, his students have been filling trophy cases with regional and national medals.
Kevin Zhao and Ian Yip both participated in Under-11 regional championships.
Zhao won a gold medal in boys singles at the Long Island Sports Center 2018 Northeast Closed Regional Championship. He also won gold in mixed doubles at the 2018 ClearOne Open Regional Championship.
Yip earned gold in boys doubles at the LISC Northeast Closed Regional. He also took home a silver medal in boys singles and a bronze medal in mixed doubles.
In the Under-13 editions of the Northeast Regional and the ClearOne Regional, another Ishaq student, Angie Liu, won two gold medals, both in girls doubles.
But it wasn’t just Ishaq’s young students that brought home medals. An older student, Aihua Li, earned gold in women’s singles at the 2018 US Senior International Badminton Tournament.
“I’ve been teaching them since they’ve been in the club. I’ve seen them from when they first held a racket to this point. So it’s extremely rewarding to see them win in nationals,” Ishaq said. “The fact that they got there is big itself.”
Ishaq taught them all how to make the leap from backyard badminton players to competitive standouts.
“Badminton is a backyard sport. You hit. They knew how to do that. But you have to get the footwork down. You also have to learn the professional strokes,” Ishaq said. “As time went on, from months to a year, they went from C to B level, then B to A.”
None of Ishaq’s students are professional badminton players. The kids are students during the week, at various schools across New Jersey. Li is a professor at Montclair State University.
But badminton has become their side passion.
“Badminton is not easy. You could train and then just not want to come back the next week. It’s really tough. It’s also a lot of physical training and a mental sport,” Ishaq said. “The way they picked it up is truly amazing. It’s also their passion for the game. If they didn’t have interest, they wouldn’t be where they are today.”
Ishaq has been playing badminton for 30 years. He came to the US because he had a “good amount of family here,” he said. And once he settled in East Brunswick, Ishaq was discovered by Wallace Lee, owner of the New Jersey Badminton Club that is located in Morris County.
“The owner saw my game and offered me the chance to coach over here,” Ishaq said.
Now the Pakistan legend is firmly settled in the United States, and building a new legacy of passing down the lessons that won him six national championships.
“It was great to come over,” Ishaq said.
