PONDA: Michael Mare will face Pratik Borkar in the finals of the U-11 boys singles at the all-Goa Mini & Sub-Junior Major Ranking Badminton Tournament 2024, organised by the Ponda Badminton Club and Margao Shuttlers Club in collaboration with the GBA and the SAG, at Ponda.
In the U-11 girls singles finals, Amaira Dhumatker will clash with Aditi Dhargalkar. The U-13 boys singles final promises an exciting match between Mohammed Umar and Michael Mare. For the U-13 girls singles title, Avni Khyalia will compete against Niharika Parwar. In the boys U-17 singles, Advait Balakrishnan will take on Soham Naik, while the top seed Ritika Chelluri will battle Aarohi Coutoncar in the girls U-17 singles.
In the boys U-11 singles semi-finals, top seed Michael Mare dominated Varun Sahakari with a convincing 15-3, 15-4 victory. Pratik Borkar advanced to the finals by defeating third seed Krithik Reddy Sripathi 15-11, 15-5. In the girls U-11 singles category, top seed Amaira Dhumatker triumphed over Aditi Dhargalkar 15-13, 15-1, while Kanika Pai Vernekar overcame third seed Komal Kothari 15-11, 15-9.
In the boys U-13 singles, top seed Mohammed Umar secured his place in the finals by beating Viraditya Pai Kane 21-13, 21-18. Michael Mare also advanced by defeating fourth seed Vishwa Parab 21-10, 21-18. In the girls U-13 singles, Avni Khyalia upset top seed Pragya Audi 21-17, 21-13, while Niharika Parwar earned her spot in the finals by defeating third seed Palak Ramnathkar 21-13, 21-10.
The boys U-17 singles featured a nail-biting match where top seed Advait Balakrishnan emerged victorious over Aarush Pawaskar 21-16, 17-21, 21-13. Soham Naik earned his finals berth by defeating fourth seed Rutav Kanabar 21-14, 21-17. Ritika Chelluri defeated Shivanjali Thite 21-6, 21-13, while Aarohi Coutoncar beat Sufiya Shaikh 21-19, 21-15 to book their spots in the girls U-17 finals.