Team Herald
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PANJIM: The Goa Badminton Association (GBA) is all set to launch its 2025-26 State Ranking calendar with the much-anticipated Sub Junior and Junior Major Ranking Badminton Tournament for the U-13 and U-19 age groups.
The tournament organised by Mapusa Shuttlers under the aegis of GBA boast a total prize purse of Rs 2.24 lakh and will be held from July 18, at the Indoor Hall, Peddem-Mapusa.
The tournament promises high-octane action with Goa’s finest young shuttlers vying for top honours. Aniket Shenai is the organising Secretary for the tournament while SAG coach Roy Ataide is the technical advisor.
In the boys’ singles U-13 category, Michael Mare leads the field as the top seed, followed by Vishwa Parab and Samarth Sakhalkar. The girls singles U-13 draw will be headlined by top seed Pragya Audi, with Avni Khyalia and Komal Kothari seeded second and third respectively.
In the boys U-19 singles, Arjun Bhagat holds the top spot, with Advait Balakrishnan and Soham Naik completing the top three. Among the girls U-19, Ritika Chelluri is seeded first, followed by Shreya Mehta and Aarohi Coutoncar. The top-seeded pairs in boys doubles U-13 are Samarth Sakhalkar/Vishwa Parab and Adharved Balakrishnan/Rian Soares. In girls doubles U-13, Amaira Dhumatker/Avni Khyalia and Komal Kothari/Pragya Audi take the top two spots. The boys U-19 doubles is led by Advait Balakrishnan/Owais Tahasildar and Aswin Mannambalath/Shaheen C K, while in the girls U-19 doubles, Shivanjali Thite/Sufiya Shaikh and Ritika Chelluri/Shreya Mehta are the top two seeds.
In the mixed doubles U-19 draw, Yousuf Shaikh/Sufiya Shaikh and Shaheen C K/Ritika Chelluri are the top two seeded teams.
“Our focus this season is not just on competition, but on talent identification,” said Manoj Patil, president of the GBA. “These tournaments help us spot promising youngsters who will be shortlisted for specialised coaching and performance-based incentives under our development programmes.”
GBA Secretary Praveen Shenoy added, “We’ve doubled the prize money for all State Ranking events this year to mark GBA’s 60th anniversary - a move that will significantly motivate our players and boost competitive standards in Goa.”