Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Goa’s Shaheen C.K. and Aswin Mannambalath delivered a spirited performance before suffering a narrow defeat in the Boys’ Doubles Under 19 pre quarterfinals at the Yonex Sunrise G.H. Raisoni Memorial All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament 2026 at the Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium in Navelim.
The Goan pair pushed top seeds Abhishek Bonu of Andhra Pradesh and Aanayan Borah of Assam to the limit in their Round of 16 encounter. However, Shaheen and Aswin narrowly lost 17 to 19, 13 to 15, bringing their campaign in the event to an end.
Shaheen also featured in the Mixed Doubles Under 19 category, partnering seventh seeds Jesicca Neyi Saring of Arunachal Pradesh. The duo fought hard against Rajasthan’s Arnav Sharma and Tamil Nadu’s Anushkaa Jennifer A.S. but went down 13 to 15, 13 to 15 in another closely contested Round of 16 match.
Meanwhile, the tournament witnessed several competitive encounters in the singles categories as leading junior shuttlers battled for places in the next round.
In Boys’ Singles Under 19, fourth seed Shaurya Agarwal of Uttarakhand defeated Kerala’s Kiran Noguchi 15 to 12, 14 to 16, 15 to 9 in a three game contest. Karnataka’s Hardik Divyansh also secured a hard fought victory, overcoming 15th seed B.V. Sudharsan of Tamil Nadu 15 to 9, 9 to 15, 17 to 15.
In Girls’ Singles Under 19, top seed Nakshatraa Jairaj of Tamil Nadu overcame Telangana’s Avni Vikram Govind 18 to 16, 8 to 15, 15 to 4. Second seed Lakshya Rajesh of Karnataka registered a straight game victory over Maharashtra’s 16th seed Ketaki Thite, winning 15 to 11, 15 to 11.
Despite the exits, Shaheen and Aswin showed determination against some of the country’s leading junior players, while the tournament continued to deliver closely fought contests across categories.
