Team Goemkarponn
Mapusa: Goa’s young shuttler Aarush Pawaskar delivered a valiant performance in front of the home crowd at the Yonex-Sunrise All India Sub Junior (U-15 & U-17) Ranking Badminton Tournament 2025, but his impressive run came to an end in the U17 pre-quarterfinals.
Playing at the Multipurpose Stadium in Peddem, Aarush edged past Kerala’s Fikham Hamdal in a nail-biting Round of 32 encounter, winning 21-15, 10-21, 21-19 in a gruelling three-setter. However, in the pre-quarterfinals, he faced a much tougher challenge against Badminton Asia bronze medallist Jagsher Singh Khangurra of Punjab and went down 11-21, 13-21.
Meanwhile, the tournament’s top seeds continued their strong showing. In the Boys U17 category, top seed Dev Ruparelia from Maharashtra was stretched to the limit by Karnataka’s Hardik Divyansh but managed to hold his nerve and emerge victorious 21-12, 15-21, 21-15, booking his place in the quarterfinals.
In the U15 Boys Singles Round of 16, the seeded players dominated. Pushkar Sai (1), representing Karnataka, defeated Jaivardhan Hooda (Haryana) 21-12, 21-14, while Punjab’s Wazir Singh (3) overcame Jayvardhan Singh (Rajasthan) 21-12, 21-18.
In the Girls U15 Singles, top seed Shaina Manimuthu (Karnataka) cruised past Shruti Yetchina (Telangana) with a commanding 21-12, 21-11 win. Telangana’s Avni Vikram Govind (3) was equally dominant in her match against Dhanya Manjunatha (Karnataka), registering a 21-6, 21-8 victory.
One of the biggest surprises of the day came in the Boys U15 Doubles, where Jaivardhan Hooda (HAR) and Harshit Khatri (DLI) upset second seeds Samarth Bhardwaj and Jatin Kumar (both from Haryana) in straight sets, 21-15, 21-19.
In Girls U17 Singles, top seed Lakshya Rajesh from Karnataka had to dig deep to get past Somyaa Bhatnagar (Rajasthan). After dropping the first game, Lakshya rallied back to win 16-21, 21-17, 21-6, showing her class and resilience to move into the next round.
As the tournament heats up, all eyes will now be on the upcoming quarterfinal clashes, where India’s brightest young talents are set to battle it out for national glory.
