City shuttler eyeing Open National Championship
Anil Datt
Ludhiana, July 29
Sannidhya Nautiyal has been drawing attention with his achievements in the game of badminton. A talented and upcoming shuttler from Ludhiana, Sannidhya (15), a student of Class X at BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, has carved a niche for himself at the state-level tournaments by finishing among the position holders during the last couple of years.
Sannidhya started playing the game in 2013 at the academy run on the school premises and gave an improved performance in every tournament he took part. There was a double delight for Sannidhya in the very first competition, as he emerged champion in the singles and doubles categories (U-13) during the Ludhiana District Badminton Tournament.
He tasted success in the state-level competition in 2016, when he secured a silver medal in the U-15 group in the Punjab State Badminton Championship held in Jalandhar. On the basis of his performance, Sannidhya was selected to take part in the National School Games at Aurangabad and he also played in Khelo India at Hyderabad. Though he could not secure any position at both these places, he had the experience of playing against the best stuff.
Last year, Sannidhya annexed the title in the U-17 category in the Punjab State Championship held at Jalandhar and was selected for the nationals held in December at Guwahati. In the Punjab State Ranking Badminton Championship held at Sangrur last week, Sannidhya bagged three titles. He won gold medal in the boys’ doubles (U-17); silver medal in doubles (U-19) and bronze in singles (U-17).
An avid follower of former Olympics champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia, Sannidhya practices for five hours daily under the guidance of school academy coaches Surender, Anand Tiwari and Lakhwinder Singh with the main focus on improving his skills and fitness and preparing for the forthcoming Open National Championship.
Sannidhya is good in studies as well. He secured 93.3 per cent marks in Class IX and is among the meritorious students of the school.
Principal Paramjit Kaur appreciated Sannidhya for his achievement in sports as well as academics. She wished him good luck to achieve new heights in life.
