Team Herald
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PANJIM: Aarush Pawaskar gave Goa plenty to cheer for on the opening day of the main draw in the Yonex-Sunrise All India Sub Junior (U-15 & U-17) Ranking Badminton Tournament at the Multipurpose Stadium, Peddem-Mapusa, on Thursday.
In a thrilling Boys Singles U-17 round of 64 match, Aarush held his nerve to clinch a hard-fought 21-14, 9-21, 21-19 victory over Manku Taku of Andhra Pradesh, emerging as the lone Goan winner on a day that saw many local hopefuls bow out after spirited displays.
Among the other Goan participants, several fought valiantly but couldn’t cross the first-round hurdle in their respective events.
In Boys Singles U-17, Advait Balakrishnan went down 15-21, 10-21 to Yash Soni of Rajasthan. The Girls Singles U-17 category saw Ketaki Thite of Maharashtra and Ridhima Saini of Chhattisgarh got the better of Yashila Ritika Chelluri and Shivanjali Thite, respectively.
In the Boys Doubles U-15, Shaan Cherkala Kunjutty and Mohammed Umar Shaikh fell 12-21, 13-21 to Vihaan Kolhade and Hridaan Padve of Maharashtra, while Sparsh Kolwalkar and Arnav Saraf narrowly missed an upset in a tight 18-21, 21-12, 20-22 loss to another Maharashtra duo.
In the Mixed Doubles U-15, Arnav Saraf and Niharika Parwar put up a brave show before falling 18-21, 21-19, 16-21 to Edward Adrien and Supreetha Deepak of Karnataka.
In Girls Doubles U-15, after their fine performance in the qualification rounds, Goa’s Dimple Revankar and her Telangana partner Tanishka Ganji were ousted by Vijaya Tejashwini Dantuluri (Andhra Pradesh) and Joel Rana (Haryana) 12-21, 17-21. Meanwhile, top-seeded national contenders showcased their class.
In Boys Singles U-15, top seed Pushkar Sai (Karnataka) defeated Delhi’s Avish Mehta 21-19, 21-5, while third seed Wazir Singh (Punjab) overcame Yatharth Kirola (Uttarakhand) 21-19, 21-12.
Girls Singles U-15 top seed Shaina Manimuthu cruised past Smriti S 21-8, 21-13, while Avni Vikram Govind (3rd seed, Telangana) survived a scare before prevailing 17-21, 22-20, 21-13 against Anvi Patel (Gujarat).
In Boys Singles U-17, top seed Dev Ruparelia of Maharashtra and third seed Akhil Reddy Bobba of Telangana advanced comfortably. With the action heating up, Goan fans will now pin their hopes on Aarush to make a mark in the tournament ahead.