Team Herald
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PANJIM: Goa’s Junior Boys team registered a thrilling 2-0 victory over Madhya Pradesh to storm into the semi-finals on the opening day of the Yonex-Sunrise West Zone Inter-State Badminton Championships 2025, being held at the Indoor Stadium, Campal-Panjim, from September 3 to 6.
In a gripping quarter-final tie, Arjun Bhagat prevailed in a three-game singles battle, while the doubles pair of Aswin Mannambalath and Shaheen Cherkala Kunjutty held their nerve in another deciding game to secure Goa’s place in the last four.
However, the spirited hosts bowed out in the semi-finals, going down 2-0 to Chhattisgarh despite fighting displays from Bhagat and the Mannambalath-Kunjutty duo.
In the Men’s team event, Goa showed determination but lost 3-1 to a strong Maharashtra side, with Arjun Rehani registering the lone Goa victory in singles. In the Women’s Team championship, Goa were beaten 3-0 by Gujarat. The Junior Girls also produced a brave show before narrowly losing 2-1 to Madhya Pradesh in their quarter-final.
The championships opened with a glittering ceremony attended by chief guest Ramesh Tawadkar, sports minister, along with Sports Secretary Santosh Sukhadeve (IAS), Director of Sports & Youth Affairs Dr Ajay Gaude, GBA President Manoj Patil, GBA Secretary Praveen Shenoy, BAI Vice-Presidents Narahar Thakur and Mayur Parikh, besides other dignitaries and organisers.
The action now builds towards high-octane finals across categories. Maharashtra will face Chhattisgarh in the men’s team championship final, while Gujarat and Maharashtra clash in the women’s final. In the junior boys final, Chhattisgarh meet Maharashtra, with the junior girls final set to feature Maharashtra against Chhattisgarh.
Results:
Junior Boys (Quarter-finals): Madhya Pradesh lost to Goa 0-2 (BS1: Naivaidhya Tonde lost to Arjun Bhagat 21-19, 17-21, 19-21; BD: Angad Muchhal/Dev Kumawat lost to Aswin Mannambalath/Shaheen Cherkala Kunjutty 15-21, 29-27, 19-21).
Semi-finals: Goa lost to Maharashtra 0-2 (BS1: Arjun Bhagat lost to Dev Ruparelia 19-21, 16-21; BD: Mannambalath/Kunjutty lost to Arjun Birajdar/Aryan Birajdar 15-21, 10-21).
Junior Girls (Quarter-finals): Goa lost to Madhya Pradesh 1-2 (GS1: Mahi Pawar lost to Yashila Ritika Chelluri 18-21, 14-21; GD: Aastha Sharma/Krati Tiwari beat Saanvi Audi/Synnovia Izabel D’Souza 21-12, 21-10; GS2: Anushka Shahapurkar beat Aarohi Yogesh Coutoncar 21-9, 21-12).