Yakshith stuns second seed to enter badminton final

Yakshith Rana stunned second rank Ayush Anand to march into the boys U-11 final of the ongoing State Mini, Junior and Senior Badminton Championships being held at the Sector 38 Sports Complex.

Rana won the first game 21-16, but Anand dragged second before facing a 28-26 defeat. In the girls U-11 semifinals, Arnaaz Kaur defeated Samridhi Kushwaha 21-15 21-10, while Pragun posted a stunning 21-7 21-18 win over second ranked Kaylin.

In the girls U-19 semis, top seed Jasmeet Kaur posted a 21-13 22-20 win over Raissa Bhanot, while Ridhima Saini continued her winning streak by defeating Ashnoor Kaur 21-14 21-18. Mohit Singh struggled hard to defeat Akul Malik in the opening men semi. Singh won the opener 21-12, but Malik bounced back with a 19-21 result. In the final game, both players gave their best, but it was Singh who marched into the final with a 21-18 verdict.

In the second semi, Samarveer Sharma defeated Sarthak Madaan 21-13 21-13. Rijul Saini moved into the women final by defeating Jasmeet Kaur 21-19 21-11, while Mahnoor Kaur became the second finalist by defeating Ridhima Saini 15-21 21-9 21-17.

In the girls U-19 doubles semis, the team of Anu Priya and Vanshika defeated Ashnoor Kaur and Rakshita Pahwa 21-11 21-14. The pair of Kevin Wong and Rehaan Phutela recorded a comeback 15-21 21-18 21-16 win over Akul and Sarthak Madan in a men doubles semi. The team of Ayaan Sharma and Hiyaan Yadav defeated Akshit Sharma and Rudraaniket Samrat 21-8 21-12, while Aayush and Riaan Panchal defeated Agampreet Singh and Darpit 21-3 21-4 in the boys U-11 doubles event.

In the boys U-19 semis, Rana Ruder Partap Singh defeated Jai Vardhan Chopra 13-21 21-8 21-18, and in the girls U-11 doubles semi, Arnaaz Kaur and Kaylin ousted Ivanshika Garg and Mankeerat Kaur 21-7 21-3. In the second semi, Pragun and Samridhi Kushwaha defeated Kohana Sharma and Subhkarman Kaur 21-10 21-5.