PANAJI
Goa’s challenge continued to face stiff opposition on the second day of the Yonex-Sunrise U-13 National Ranking Badminton Tournament at the Manohar Parrikar Indoor Stadium, with several local shuttlers bowing out in the qualification rounds.
Varun Sahakari suffered an 8-15, 12-15 defeat to Nhaithik T of Telangana in Qualification Round 2. Shourya Sinari also exited the tournament after going down 15-7, 15-11 to Hadhi Hamdhan of Kerala, while Suven Sawant’s campaign ended with a 15-6, 15-10 loss to Abraham Menezes of Karnataka.
In the girls’ doubles category, the Goan pair of Yashika Koneru and Saachi Sinai Kenkre lost 15-2, 15-1 to Tamil Nadu’s Mullai PJ and Subiksha S. Another Goan duo, Kanika Pai Vernekar and Ashbah Tahasildar, put up a strong fight before losing 12-15, 15-13, 15-7 to Mithra Kirubakaran and Harithra Vaithiyalingam of Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, top seed Nikesh Durbha of Andhra Pradesh maintained his impressive form with a 15-6, 15-9 victory over Maharashtra’s Parasmay Rane. Second seed Aaditya Guna of Karnataka defeated Haryana’s Yuvraj Singh 15-12, 15-11, while fourth seed Mahidhar Reddy Chappidi of Andhra Pradesh cruised past Samar Bagaria of Haryana 15-11, 15-4. Telangana’s Arnav Prakash also impressed with an 18-16, 15-8 win over Karnataka’s Asher Fernandes.
In the girls’ section, top seed Prisha Parmar of Gujarat and second seed Hemashree of Karnataka advanced comfortably to the next round.
Goa’s top-ranked players will begin their main draw campaign on May 15, with Michael Mare, Pratik Naik Borkar and Vedh Lotliker leading the boys’ contingent. Rising star Amaira Dhumatkar, last year’s National U-11 bronze medallist, will spearhead the girls’ challenge alongside Kanika Pai Vernekar and Ashbah Tahasildar.
