Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Goa’s young shuttlers produced spirited performances as the main draw action began on the third day of the Yonex Sunrise Under 13 National Ranking Badminton Tournament at the Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium in Navelim.
Amaira Dhumatker emerged as the standout performer for the hosts with an impressive straight games victory over Sri Pravya Ponnaganti of Andhra Pradesh. Displaying excellent control and composure, Amaira sealed a hard fought 21 to 16, 22 to 20 win to advance in the girls singles category.
She continued her strong run in the girls doubles event as well, teaming up with Shreeya A. Rao of Karnataka to register a commanding 21 to 7, 21 to 11 victory against Arayana Chaudhary of Uttar Pradesh and Lavya Anika Patel of Uttarakhand.
Goa also celebrated a determined performance from Michael Mare, who fought through a demanding three game contest to overcome Shresth Kumar of Uttar Pradesh. Michael claimed the match 21 to 18, 14 to 21, 21 to 14 in an entertaining encounter that drew loud support from the local crowd.
However, it was the end of the road for several other Goan players in the singles section. Pratik Naik Borkar was defeated by Ramanjan Banerjee of West Bengal, while Vedh Lotlikar went down against Samarth Agarwal of Uttar Pradesh. In the girls singles category, Kanika Pai Vernekar and Ashbah Tahasildar also bowed out after losses to Bhaavni Katkar of Karnataka and Lavya Anika Patel of Uttarakhand respectively.
Among the seeded players, top seed Rehaan Dudekula of Andhra Pradesh opened his campaign confidently with a straight games win over Purab Karki of Uttarakhand. Fifth seed Ishmeet Arora of Madhya Pradesh and sixth seed Ram Charan Teja Akula of Telangana also progressed comfortably.
A major upset came when ninth seed Rabbiguel Anji of Punjab stunned fourth seed Mahidhar Reddy Chappidi of Andhra Pradesh. In the girls section, top seed Lyosha Korukonda and third seed Anvi Reddy Gade, both from Telangana, advanced smoothly as the prestigious national championship entered a highly competitive stage.
