If badminton had not worked out for Unnati Hooda, she already seems to have had another dream in mind. “Maybe a novel writer or something like that,” the 18-year-old smiled during a rapid-fire segment with The Bridge. It was an unexpectedly soft, thoughtful answer from one of India’s brightest young badminton stars, a player who, at the moment, is writing a rather remarkable sporting story of her own. Hooda recently climbed to World No. 19 in the BWF rankings, becoming only the third Indian women’s singles player after Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to break into the top-20. But despite the milestone, there was no dramatic celebration or loud proclamation from the teenager. Instead, Hooda described the moment with the same calmness and sincerity that defined her entire conversation. “I am really feeling good that I was able to break top-20 for the first time,” she said. “Now I’m looking forward to how I can maintain my rankings and be consistent.” The word, consistency, came up repeatedly through the interaction. For Hooda, the breakthrough ranking …