Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Goa’s Aswin Mannambalath and Sufiya Shaikh advanced to the next round of the Mixed Doubles Under 19 event at the Yonex Sunrise G.H. Raisoni Memorial All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament 2026, defeating their opponents convincingly at the Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium in Navelim.
The Goan duo registered a 15-5, 15-7 victory over Roshan Pottimurthi of Andhra Pradesh and Niranjanee Deshpande of Maharashtra in the second round to strengthen their campaign in the tournament.
However, Goa’s players encountered mixed fortunes in the Boys’ Singles Under 19 category. Sparsh Kolwalkar lost 15-7, 15-8 to Haryana’s Ishan Nandal, while Aswin Mannambalath suffered a narrow three game defeat against Telangana’s Rahul Sai Saindla. Aswin went down 15-10, 12-15, 15-11 after pushing his opponent through a closely contested encounter.
Goa also faced setbacks in the Boys’ Doubles event. Sparsh Kolwalkar and Sudhanva Udupa lost 7-15, 4-15 to Maharashtra’s Swarit Satpute and Abheek Sharma. Shane D’Souza and Arnav Saraf put up a determined fight against Delhi’s Priyansh and Yash Sharma but eventually lost 15-12, 16-14, 11-15.
The tournament is organised by the Goa Badminton Association in association with the North Goa District Badminton Association, under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India and the Sports Authority of Goa.
In other Under 19 qualification matches, second seed Manku Taku of Arunachal Pradesh edged Maharashtra’s Raghavendra Yadav 15-11, 11-15, 16-14 in the Boys’ Singles category. Fourth seed Viren Seth of Punjab secured a comfortable 15-9, 15-5 win over Tamil Nadu’s Lakshman R. K.
In the Girls’ Singles Under 19 category, second seed Rewaraje Verma of Chhattisgarh defeated Maharashtra’s Prisha Shah 15-9, 15-13. Third seed Gargi Saikia of Assam, meanwhile, suffered a three game defeat against Maharashtra’s Pranjal Shinde, losing 8-15, 16-14, 15-13 in a closely fought contest.
