Team Goemkarponn Panaji: Pragya Audi, Amaira Dhumatker, Mohammad Umar and Ateendra Gaonkar advanced to the quarterfinals on the opening day of the Radiant State Ranking Badminton Tournament at the Multipurpose Stadium in Ponda.
The tournament is being organised by Radiant Sports Club in association with the Goa Badminton Association and Sports Authority of Goa, with several young players making their mark across the Under 15 singles events.
In the Girls’ Singles Under 15 Round of 16, top seed Pragya Audi made a strong start with a dominant 15 3, 15 1 victory over Purvi Pai Vernekar. Seventh seed Komal Kothari defeated Tanvika Vemavarapu 15 5, 15 10, while fourth seed Avni Khyalia overcame Anvitha Poojari 16 14, 15 9.
Sanvi Shirodkar produced another notable result by defeating eighth seed Aditi Dhargalkar 18 16, 15 9. Amaira Dhumatker also progressed comfortably, beating Pihoo Redkar 15 3, 15 5. Palak Ramnathkar, Astha Poudel and Niharika Parwar completed the list of quarterfinalists.
In the Boys’ Singles Under 15 event, top seed Mohammad Umar opened his campaign with a convincing 15 7, 15 3 win over Shourya Sinari.
Aarush Deshmukh survived a close contest against Tanay Dhond, winning 18 16, 10 15, 15 8 in three games.
The biggest upset of the opening day came from Ateendra Gaonkar, who defeated third seed Pratik Naik Borkar 16 14, 15 9 to book his place in the last eight.
Akshaj Tiwari also advanced after overcoming seventh seed Ryllan Dsouza 15 13, 15 9. Viraditya Pai Kane, Vishwa Parab, Aaryan Karpe and Michael Ryan Mare joined the quarterfinal lineup.
