The 45th Indian Masters National Badminton Championships 2022-2023 kicked off simultaneously at Navelim and Fatorda today with a flurry of exciting matches. The tournament, which is being held at the Manohar Parrikar Indoor stadium in Navelim, Goa as the main venue, will continue till March 26, 2023. The event is hosted by Goa Badminton Association under the aegis of Badminton Association of India and in collaboration with the Sports Authority of Goa, and along with the North and South Goa District Badminton Associations.
On the first day of the championships, action began simultaneously at the Indoor stadiums in Navelim and Fatorda, where a total of 633 matches were held, featuring around 800 players. Qualifying rounds were played in the categories of 35+, 40+, 45+ and 50+ age groups to qualify for the Main Draw which is scheduled in the evening session on March 20. The qualifying matches will continue in the morning and afternoon sessions of day two of the championships on March 20.
The championship is a prestigious selection championship to select the best players to represent India in the BWF World Senior Badminton Championships 2023 to be held in South Korea later in the year. Around 150 Goan players are participating in the 8-day event, competing against some of the finest badminton players from across the country, where total number of entries is around 2300.
Amrish Shinde (MAH), Anu Gera (UP), Archana Singh (MAH), Anjali Lotke (MAH), Priya Prakash (TS), Priya Ambekar (MAH) were some of the top ranked players who surged ahead. Goan players Krishnanand Vernekar, Abhishek Goyal / Neeraj Goyal, Harish Chari / Kaushik Dhond, and Wayne Fernandes / Krishnaprasad Naik and Mahesh Singh Bhandari kept their hopes alive by winning their respective matches to be in line for qualification in the main draw.
