Amaira Dhumatker stole the spotlight for Goa with a superb 21-16, 22-20 win over Sri Pravya Ponnaganti (Andhra Pradesh) as the main draw commenced on day three of the Yonex-Sunrise U-13 National Ranking Badminton Tournament being held at Manohar Parrikar Indoor stadium at Navelim. Amaira continued her fine form in girls’ doubles, partnering Shreeya A. Rao (Karnataka) to defeat Arayana Chaudhary (Uttar Pradesh) and Lavya Anika Patel (Uttarakhand) 21-7, 21-11. Michael Mare added to the home cheer with a hard-fought 21-18, 14-21, 21-14 win against Shresth Kumar (Uttar Pradesh). However, Pratik Naik Borkar went down 21-6, 21-14 to Ramanjan Banerjee (West Bengal), while Vedh Lotlikar lost 21-2, 21-4 to Samarth Agarwal (Uttar Pradesh). Kanika Pai Vernekar and Ashbah Tahasildar also exited in the girls’ singles against Bhaavni Katkar (Karnataka) and Lavya Anika Patel (Uttarakhand) respectively.
Top seed Rehaan Dudekula (Andhra Pradesh) began his campaign in style with a 21-14, 21-13 win over Purab Karki (Uttarakhand), while fifth seed Ishmeet Arora (Madhya Pradesh) and sixth seed Ram Charan Teja Akula (Telangana) advanced in straight games. Fourth seed Sibi Jero J (Tamil Nadu) survived a tough three-game battle, and ninth seed Rabbiguel Anji (Punjab) upset fourth seed Mahidhar Reddy Chappidi (Andhra Pradesh) in a notable result. In the girls’ section, top seed Lyosha Korukonda (Telangana) and third seed Anvi Reddy Gade (Telangana) progressed comfortably, as the championship moved into an intense phase with the country’s best young talent on display.
