Team Goemkarponn
Mapusa: Goa’s Aarush Pawaskar brought joy to the home crowd with a nail-biting victory on the opening day of the main draw at the Yonex-Sunrise All India Sub-Junior (U-15 & U-17) Ranking Badminton Tournament 2025, currently underway at the Multipurpose Stadium, Peddem in Mapusa.
In a pulsating Boys U-17 Singles Round of 64 encounter, Aarush displayed nerves of steel to edge past Manku Taku of Andhra Pradesh in a tightly contested three-game thriller. The Goan youngster won the match 21-14, 9-21, 21-19, becoming the only local shuttler to progress on a day when many Goan hopefuls exited despite gritty performances.
In the same category, Advait Balakrishnan went down fighting to Rajasthan’s Yash Soni, losing 15-21, 10-21. The Girls U-17 Singles saw tough outings for Goa’s Yashila Ritika Chelluri and Shivanjali Thite, who were beaten by Ketaki Thite (Maharashtra) and Ridhima Saini (Chhattisgarh), respectively.
In Boys U-15 Doubles, the pair of Shaan Cherkala Kunjutty and Mohammed Umar Shaikh were outplayed by Vihaan Kolhade and Hridaan Padve of Maharashtra in straight games (12-21, 13-21). A spirited effort from Sparsh Kolwalkar and Arnav Saraf saw them come agonizingly close to an upset before narrowly losing 18-21, 21-12, 20-22 in a high-octane encounter.
The Mixed Doubles U-15 also saw Goa’s Arnav Saraf pair up with Niharika Parwar in a close match against Edward Adrien and Supreetha Deepak of Karnataka, eventually losing 18-21, 21-19, 16-21. In Girls Doubles U-15, after a commendable run in the qualifiers, Goa’s Dimple Revankar and her Telangana partner Tanishka Ganji bowed out to Vijaya Tejashwini Dantuluri (Andhra Pradesh) and Joel Rana (Haryana) with a 12-21, 17-21 defeat.
Meanwhile, the tournament’s top seeds across various age groups and categories lived up to expectations. In Boys U-15 Singles, Pushkar Sai (Karnataka), the top seed, dispatched Avish Mehta (Delhi) 21-19, 21-5, while third seed Wazir Singh (Punjab) beat Yatharth Kirola (Uttarakhand) 21-19, 21-12.
In Girls U-15 Singles, top seed Shaina Manimuthu cruised past Smriti S. 21-8, 21-13. Telangana’s third seed Avni Vikram Govind had to dig deep to overcome Anvi Patel (Gujarat) in a three-game battle, eventually prevailing 17-21, 22-20, 21-13.
In the Boys U-17 Singles, top seed Dev Ruparelia (Maharashtra) and third seed Akhil Reddy Bobba (Telangana) advanced comfortably, keeping their title hopes alive.
With most local participants bowing out, all eyes will now be on Aarush Pawaskar, as Goa rallies behind its lone flagbearer in the prestigious national tournament. As the competition intensifies, the focus shifts to Aarush’s next outing and the possibility of a deeper run in the championship.
