While many students are weighing college options and CBSE scores, Delhi teen Aradhya Porwal is already balancing two demanding worlds: the squash court and the classroom. A squash player who was earlier No. 1 in the All-India Girls Under-17 ranking, Porwal will now be competing in the U-19 category. Off court, she scored 96.6% in her CBSE Class 12 board exams, cracked JEE Mains with a 91 percentile on her first attempt, and is preparing for JEE Advanced.Aradhya Porwal held the No. 1 position in the All-India Girls Under-17 ranking from July to December 2025.For her, the idea is simple: she does not want to choose between sport and academics. “Squash is my passion, wearing the India colours is a feeling like no other. But that feeling is exactly what keeps me grounded to not give up on the other things in life, like my academics,” she tells us.Training, school, repeatHer schedule is built with military precision, and her mother plays a key role in keeping it on track. “We make weekly timetables for balance, so I don’t lose out on anything. It was training twice a day, six days a week, along with strength and fitness sessions. After my morning practice, I’d go to school, come home and go straight for the evening session. I had to travel a lot for the tournaments, so I carried my books with me.”The match that changed it allPorwal is quick to point out that the journey was not always smooth. “It was not that I was always winning in squash or I was always good at academics. Until Class 8, I was not really good. In squash also, I would reach the finals, and then I would lose because of some kind of mental block.” The turning point came at 15, during a high-pressure tournament: “I lost a U-17 tournament category in the first round. But later, in the women’s category against players much more experienced, I made it to semi-finals after trailing in the game by a huge margin. It changed it all for me that day.” A special interaction with a Champion and the road aheadAradhya shares that one of the idols for her in her sports journey so far has been ace badminton player PV Sindhu and shares how an interaction with her early on in her career inspired her. “I met PV Sindhu once and it was really special. She told me how, when she started, she’d go for 4am sessions. And I trained at 5am before school! She has really inspired me. Also her aggression on court and is something I relate too.”Her next goal is clear: “I want to be at the Commonwealth Games in 2030 and then the Olympics. And, not only be there, I want to win a medal, a gold for India.”For more, follow HT City Delhi Junction