Young Indian shuttlers sparkle at Asia Junior Championships

Young Indian shuttlers continued to impress at the Badminton Asia U-17 and U-15 Championships in Chengdu, with Lakshya Rajesh, Diksha Sudhakar, and Jagsher Singh Khangurra storming into the pre-quarterfinals in their respective singles events. Their performances kept India’s medal hopes alive on the second day of the continental tournament.

In the U-17 girls’ singles, Lakshya looked in fine rhythm as she outplayed Chinese Taipei’s Kuan Yi Lin 21-17, 21-11 in straight games. Teammate Diksha displayed grit and composure, staging a superb comeback from a game down to defeat China’s Luo Ya Ru 17-21, 21-16, 21-11.

In the boys’ U-17 section, Jagsher Singh Khangurra produced a commanding performance to register a 21-14, 21-17 win over China’s Zhang Yu Feng, ensuring India’s continued presence in the singles draw.

India’s doubles teams also made a strong impression. The U-17 girls’ pair of Deepak Raj Aditi and P. Vriddhi got past Malaysia’s Sue Mei Teoh and Zi Qing Wan 22-20, 21-12, while in the U-15 mixed doubles, the duo of Hemanth Sri Sammetla and Sharayu Ranjane breezed past Singapore’s fifth seeds Ng Yu Ze and Loo Kit Rei Chara 21-9, 21-11 to move into the Round of 16.

Elsewhere, Anvi Rathore, Wazir Singh, and SL Dhakshan Sugumaran extended their winning runs, while top-seeded girls’ singles player Shaina Manimuthu stamped her authority with a dominant 21-6, 21-10 victory over Malaysia’s Jing Er Tan.

India, fielding a 36-member squad this year, will be aiming to improve on its recent success with a gold and bronze in 2024 and three medals in 2023, both editions held in Chengdu.