Litttle champions

Telangana’s Pranav Rao Gandham brought laurels to state after winning two titles — singles and doubles along with his partner Sai Vishnu Pullela — while Abhilasha A. was the other player from the Telugu state who clinched a title in the 31st Sub-Junior National Badminton Championships that recently concluded at Tenali in Andhra Pradesh. In the Under 15 boys singles final, second seeded Pranav dished out a come-from-behind victory to outclass Haryana’s Jayant Rana 15-21, 23-21, 21-4.

In the first game, Pranav had a sloppy start after he lost 15-21 to third seeded Jayant. The second game too was a tight contest between both the participants who fought tooth and nail but the Telangana lad did not give up and clinched crucial points in the final moments to take the match to the decider after winning the second at 23-21. In the decider, Pranav stunned Jayant and ran away with the match and title after cornering his opponent 21-4.

In the Under 15 girls singles final, Abhilasha from Telangana too emerged champion after registering a straight games victory over second seeded Tasnim Mir of Gujarat. The scoreline read  21-6, 21-12. In the U-15 boys doubles final, Pranav paired up with Sai Vishnu to down Jayant Rana & Arshad Shaik duo by a 21-14, 21-23, 21-12 verdict.

The Results
 U-13 boys singles final: Tonmoy Bikash Boruah (1, ASM) bt Anurag Talukdar (ASM) 21-12, 21-14.

Semifinals: Tonmoy Bikash Boruah (ASM) bt Lokesh Reddy K. (4, TS) 21-10, 21-10; Anurag Talukdar (ASM) bt Ayush Shetty (2, KTK) 22-20, 21-17.

Quarterfinals: Tonmoy Bikash Boruah (ASM) bt Abhinay Sairam Ganta (13, TS) 21-11, 21-9; Lokesh Reddy K. (4, TS) bt Gagan (HAR) 21-18, 21-11; Anurag Talukdar (ASM) bt Sathwik Reddy K. (14, TS) 16-21, 21-13, 21-15; Ayush Shetty (2, KTK) bt Akshat Reddy Gavva (8, TS) 21-9, 21-13.

 U-13 girls singles final: Tasnim Mir (4, GUJ) bt Sakshi Phogat (2, RAJ) 17-21, 21-19, 21-11.

Semifinals: Tasnim Mir (4, GUJ) bt Tara Shah (1, MAH) 21-17, 22-24, 21-10; Sakshi Phogat (2, RAJ) bt Radhika Sharma (3, PNB) 21-11, 21-4.

Quarterfinals: Tara Shah (1, MAH) bt Pavithra Naveen (8, KER) 21-12, 22-20; Tasnim Mir (4, GUJ) bt Hiral Chouhan (7, CG) 21-8, 21-18; Radhika Sharma (3, PNB) bt Disha Sarma (ASM) 21-18, 21-17; Sakshi Phogat (2, RAJ) bt Gauri Chitte (MP) 21-5, 14-5 retired hurt.

U-13 boys doubles final: Tonmoy Bikash Boruah/ Anurag Talukdar (ASM) bt Animesh Gogoi/ Tehzeeb Rahul Taufique (ASM) 21-11, 21-10.

Semifinals: Animesh Gogoi/ Tehzeeb Rahul Taufique (ASM) bt Sumukh G. S./ Tushar Suveer (4, KTK) 21-16, 21-19; Tonmoy Bikash Boruah/ Anurag Talukdar (ASM) bt Ankit Mondal (WB)/ Lakshay Sharma (2, PNB) 21-10, 20-22, 21-11.

Quarterfinals: Animesh Gogoi/ Tehzeeb Rahul Taufique (ASM) bt Lokesh Reddy K./ Sathwik Reddy K. (1, TS) 21-11, 15-21, 21-16; Sumukh G. S./ Tushar Suveer (4, KTK) bt Lokesh Parasa/ Ashrith Valishetty (8, TS) 21-17, 21-17; Tonmoy Bikash Boruah/ Anurag Talukdar (ASM) bt Nganba Singh Konjengbam/ Ronald Rajkumar (MNP) 21-15, 21-15; Ankit Mondal (WB)/ Lakshay Sharma (2, PNB) bt Alikhan Maheer Meer/ Shiva Reddy Nagella (6, AP) 21-16, 21-18.

U-13 girls doubles final: Gayathri Rani Jaiswal/ Karnika Sree S (2, KTK) bt Andrea Sarah Kurien/ Pavithra Naveen (3, KER) 21-13, 21-9.

Semifinals: Andrea Sarah Kurien/ Pavithra Naveen (3, KER) bt Ankita Gogoi/ Ridhima Thapa (ASM) 21-16, 21-19; Gayathri Rani Jaiswal/ Karnika Sree S. (2, KTK) bt Manya Avlani/ Nikkita Joseph (4, MAH) 19-21, 21-14, 21-16.

Quarterfinals: Ankita Gogoi/ Ridhima Thapa (ASM) bt Neysa Cariappa A./ Anannya Joishy (KTK) 21-12, 21-16; Andrea Sarah Kurien/ Pavithra Naveen (3, KER) bt Palak Arora/ Unnati Hooda (HAR) 17-21, 21-14, 21-19; Manya Avlani/ Nikkita Joseph (4, MAH) bt Yuvashri K. P.Y./ Srinitya Naraharisetti (6, AP) 21-10, 21-16; Gayathri Rani Jaiswal/ Karnika Sree S. (2, KTK) bt Methini V.D./ Nardhana V.R. (7, TN) 21-14, 22-20.

U-15 boys singles final: Pranav Rao Gandham (2, TS) bt Jayant Rana (3, HAR) 15-21, 23-21, 21-4.

Semifinals: Jayant Rana (3, HAR) bt Sankar Muthusamy S. (1, TN) 15-21, 21-19, 21-15; Pranav Rao Gandham (2, TS) bt Siddhanth Gupta (4, TN) 21-13, 13-21, 21-15.

Quarterfinals: Sankar Muthusamy S. (1, TN) bt Vikas Yadav (6, DLI) 21-16, 21-16; Jayant Rana (3, HAR) bt Ayush Raj Gupta (UP) 21-18, 21-18; Siddhanth Gupta (4, TN) bt Varun Kapur (5, MAH) 21-19, 21-16; Pranav Rao Gandham (2, TS) bt Kavin Thangam (TN) 21-18, 16-21, 21-16.

 U-15 girls singles final: Abhilasha A. (TS) bt Tasnim Mir (2, GUJ) 21-6, 21-12.

Semifinals: Abhilasha A. (TS) bt Meghana Reddy M. (1, TS) 23-21, 21-19; Tasnim Mir (2, GUJ) bt Tanya Hemanth (4, KTK) 21-10, 21-10.

Quarterfinals: Meghana Reddy M. (1, TS) bt Treesa Jolly (7, KER) 21-14, 21-14; Abhilasha A. (TS) bt Kriti Bharadwaj (3, KTK) 21-23, 21-17, 21-18; Tanya Hemanth (4, KTK) bt Bhargavi K. (6, TS) 19-21, 21-16, 21-14; Tasnim Mir (2, GUJ) bt Mansi Singh (13, UP) 21-18, 21-16.

U-15 boys doubles final: Pranav Rao Gandham/ Sai Vishnu Pullela (1, TS) bt Jayant Rana (HAR)/ Arshad Shaik (4, AP) 21-14, 21-23, 21-12.

Quarterfinals: Pranav Rao Gandham/ Sai Vishnu Pullela (1, TS) bt Sanjeeva Rao Relly/ Khaja Moinuddin Shaik (8, AP) 21-15, 21-12; Ayush Raj Gupta (UP)/ Punshiba Yengkhom (3, MNP) bt Shivam Mehta/ Pranav Sharma (5, UTR) 21-15, 21-15; Jayant Rana (HAR)/ Arshad Shaik (4, AP) bt Siddhanth Gupta/ Rithvik Sanjeevi S. (TN) 21-15, 21-8; Chiranjeevi Reddy S./ Suhas V. (2, KTK) bt Arryan Aji. R./ Aadithyan S. D (KER) 21-11, 21-18.

U-15 girls doubles final: Kriti Bharadwaj/ Tanya Hemanth (1, KTK) bt Treesa Jolly/ Mehreen Riza (3, KER) 22-20, 21-6.

Semifinals: Treesa Jolly/ Mehreen Riza (3, KER) bt Anya Chauhan/ Awantika Pandey (UTR) 18-21, 21-15, 21-14.

Quarterfinals: Kriti Bharadwaj/ Tanya Hemanth (1, KTK) bt Mansee Chauhan/ Shivanjali Chauhan (RAJ) 21-8, 21-11; Tasnim Mir (GUJ)/ Anupama Upadhyaya (5, UTR) bt Aditi Bhatt/ Sneha Rajwar (4, UTR) 21-15, 21-8; Treesa Jolly/ Mehreen Riza (3, KER) bt Janani Ananthakumar/ Shruti Moghe (7, KTK) 21-13, 21-10; Anya Chauhan/ Awantika Pandey (UTR) bt Garima/ Priyanka Pant (MP) 21-9, 21-6.