Nagpur shuttlers win six medals at Maharashtra sub-junior badminton championship in Pune

The SBA Cup Maharashtra Sub-Junior Inter-District and State Badminton Championship was held in Pune from October 31 to November 7. Players from Nagpur performed well in the tournament and won six medals in all: one gold, two silver and three bronze.

Aditya Yaul was the city's most successful player at the championship. He reached the finals in two different age groups and won one gold and one silver medal.

In the final of the boys' singles under-15 category, Aditya faced Pradnyan Shinde. He won the match 15-12, 9-15, 15-11. The contest was closely fought, but Aditya took the title on the strength of patience and aggressive play.

He then also reached the final of the boys' singles under-17 category. There, L. Abhigyan Singha beat him 8-15, 13-15, and Aditya had to settle for silver. Reaching the finals in two age groups in a single championship shows consistency in his game, the report said.

Sairaj Naise of Nagpur won bronze medals in two categories. In the boys' doubles under-17 event, he had partnered Satya Chauhan of Mumbai Suburban. The pair won every match up to the quarter-finals. In the semi-final, the pair of Sayaji Shelar and Udayan Deshmukh beat them, and they took the bronze.

Sairaj then played the under-17 mixed doubles with Ritika Kamble of Kolhapur. This pair also reached the semi-finals. After losing there to the pair of Raghavendra Yadav and Sharvari Survase, they too received bronze.

Devansh Thakkar and Kapish Kolhe also made an important contribution to Nagpur's medal tally. The two played well together in the boys' doubles under-15 category. They gave their opponents a tough fight in different rounds and reached the semi-finals. The pair finally won bronze.

Meanwhile, in the girls' doubles under-15 category, Sanvi Ghate of Nagpur partnered Rudraniraje Nimbalkar of Pune and reached the final. The collective performance of the Nagpur players in the state-level event has once again brought the city's badminton talent to the fore.