Pragya Audi, Amaira Dhumatker, Mohammad Umar and Ateendra Gaonkar emerged among the notable winners on the opening day of the State Ranking Badminton Tournament, organised by Radiant Sports Club in association with the Goa Badminton Association and Sports Authority of Goa at the Multipurpose Stadium, Ponda.
In the Girls’ Singles Under-15 Round of 16, top seed Pragya Audi defeated Purvi Pai Vernekar 15-3, 15-1, while seventh seed Komal Kothari beat Tanvika Vemavarapu 15-5, 15-10. Fourth seed Avni Khyalia overcame Anvitha Poojari 16-14, 15-9, while Sanvi Shirodkar defeated eighth seed Aditi Dhargalkar 18-16, 15-9. Amaira Dhumatker registered a comfortable 15-3, 15-5 win over Pihoo Redkar, with Palak Ramnathkar, Astha Poudel and Niharika Parwar also progressing to the quarterfinals.
In the Boys’ Singles Under-15 Round of 16, top seed Mohammad Umar began his campaign with a convincing 15-7, 15-3 victory over Shourya Sinari. Aarush Deshmukh overcame Tanay Dhond in a close three-game encounter, 18-16, 10-15, 15-8, while Ateendra Gaonkar caused an upset by defeating third seed Pratik Naik Borkar 16-14, 15-9. Akshaj Tiwari beat seventh seed Ryllan Dsouza 15-13, 15-9, while Viraditya Pai Kane, Vishwa Parab, Aaryan Karpe and Michael Ryan Mare also advanced to the quarterfinals.
