Shuttlers set for Asian c'ship in Indonesia

Panchkula, July 2

The 18-member Indian squad, which will be playing in the Badminton Asia Junior Championships to be held in Indonesia from July 7 to 16, was given a formal send-off here today. The team earlier attended a two-week preparatory training camp at the Sector 3 Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula.

The camp, aimed at bolstering the team’s preparations, was supported by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Badminton Association of India (BAI). “The two-week training camp helped create a momentum ahead of the tournament. It also helped the team members to bond and know each other better. We have a formidable squad that has the ability to challenge the best,” said BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra.

In the group stage, India is placed in Group C along with Malaysia, Bangladesh and Hong Kong. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage. In the past, India has won two gold medals, one silver medal and a bronze medal.

PV Sindhu was the first to claim a gold medal in the 2012 championships. Lakshya Sen added to that tally in 2018. This junior tournament is a stepping stone for shuttlers aspiring to grow in the sport.

The Indian squadcomprises the following players.

In the boys’ singles team are: Lakshya Sharma, Samarveer, Ayush Shetty and Dhruv Negi. The girls’ singles team comprises Rakshitha Sree S, Shriyanshi Valishetty, Tara Shah and Anmol Kharb.

The boys’ doubles players are: Nicholas Nathan Raj/Tushar Suveer and Divyam Arora/Mayank Rana; girls’ doubles: Radhika Sharma/Tanvi Sharma and Karnika Sree S/Taneesha Singh and mixed doubles: Samarveer/Radhika Sharma and Arulmurugan R/Srinidhi.