Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Goa’s Junior Boys badminton team put up a spirited fight at the ongoing Yonex-Sunrise West Zone Inter-State Badminton Championships 2025, held at the Indoor Stadium, Campal, Panaji, from September 3–6.
On the opening day, the Goan boys stormed into the semi-finals with a thrilling 2-0 victory over Madhya Pradesh. Arjun Bhagat clinched a hard-fought singles match, while the doubles pair of Aswin Mannambalath and Shaheen Cherkala Kunjutty held their nerve in a nail-biting three-game battle to seal the tie.
However, their campaign ended in the last four after going down 0-2 to Chhattisgarh, despite a commendable effort on home soil.
In the Men’s Team event, Goa displayed grit but lost 1-3 to Maharashtra, with Arjun Rehani earning the lone singles win. Meanwhile, in the Women’s Team Championship, Goa suffered a 0-3 defeat to Gujarat, while the Junior Girls team narrowly lost 1-2 to Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinals, with Aastha Sharma and Krati Tiwari winning the doubles tie.
The championships are now set for high-octane finals: Maharashtra vs Chhattisgarh in the Men’s and Junior Boys categories, and Maharashtra vs Gujarat and Maharashtra vs Chhattisgarh in the Women’s and Junior Girls categories respectively.
The tournament was inaugurated in a glittering ceremony by Sports Minister Shri Ramesh Tawadkar, joined by Secretary for Sports Shri Santosh Sukhadeve (IAS), DSYA Director Dr. Ajay Gaude, GBA President Manoj Patil, GBA Secretary Praveen Shenoy, and BAI Vice Presidents Narahar Thakur and Mayur Parikh, among other dignitaries.
