Top Goan shuttlers Nishant Shenai and Anjana Kumari emerged victorious in the men’s and women’s singles events at the State Badminton Ranking Tournament 2025, organised by Shuttlers Club and Morning Badminton Club in aegis with the Goa Badminton Association and the Sports Authority of Goa.
In a gripping men’s singles final at Indoor stadium, Campal on Sunday; Nishant Shenai overcame Arjun Bhagat 21-18, 13-21, 21-10, displaying power, precision and composure in the deciding game. For Nishant, a former Junior champion, it was his maiden title in the senior category after missing out narrowly on a few earlier occasions.
In the women’s singles summit clash, Anjana Kumari upset top seed Sufiya Shaikh 21-19, 21-17, to claim a well-deserved title.
Earlier on Sunday morning, both players had come through challenging semi-finals, with Nishant defeating Devansh Sakpal 21-15, 21-7, and Arjun easing past Soham Naik 21-8, 21-13, while Anjana outlasted Janhavi Mahale 21-18, 19-21, 21-10 and Sufiya held off Shreya Mehta 21-14, 18-21, 21-10.
In the Women’s Doubles, the pair of Janhavi Mahale and Minoshka Pereira impressed with their sharp all-round play, defeating Ritika Chelluri and Riya Haldankar 23-21, 21-12 in a high-quality final. Ritika and Riya had earlier downed Shivanjali Thite and Sufiya Shaikh 21-18, 21-18, while Janhavi and Minoshka edged past top seeds Shreya Mehta and Yasmin Sayed 21-17, 4-21, 21-17 in the semi-finals.
The Mixed Doubles final saw Shaheen C.K. and Ritika Chelluri clinch the title after their opponents Aryaman Saraf and Sufiya Shaikh were forced to concede due to Aryaman’s cramps sustained during the semi-finals.
Earlier, Aryaman and Sufiya had fought back strongly to beat Mayank Raj and Yasmin Sayed 14-21, 21-19, 21-14, while Shaheen and Ritika received a walkover from Sanath and Anaya Kamat.
In the Men’s Doubles, the top-performing brothers Arjun and Tejan Fallary were declared champions after Aryaman Saraf and Rudra Phadte were unable to take the court for the final. The Fallary duo had earlier put on a solid display to defeat Ayaan Shaikh and Mayank Raj 21-19, 21-12, while Aryaman and Rudra came through a thriller against Aswin Mannambalath and Shaheen C.K. 21-18, 16-21, 26-24. The tournament, which offered a cash purse of ₹1.62 lakh, was the third and final selection tournament to shortlist Goa team for the Senior Nationals.
