Badminton: Vennala Kalagotla, Tanvi Sharma lead strong start for India on Day 1 of Asia Junior Individual Championships

Solo (Indonesia), July 24 (IANS) Vennala Kalagotla, Tanvi Sharma won their respective matches as India’s campaign at the Badminton Asia Junior Individual Championships 2025 began on a strong note, led by commanding performances in the singles events.

In women’s singles, Vennala Kalagotla impressed with two back-to-back wins — a swift 21-6, 21-10 win over Alissa Kuleshova in just 15 minutes, followed by a 21-18, 21-16 result against Indonesia’s Auberta Zerlina to enter the Round-of-32 on Thursday. Second seed Tanvi Sharma eased past UAE’s Vaidehi Kalidasan 21-6, 21-6, while Tanvi Reddy Andluri defeated Cheok Ian Ung 21-9, 21-10.

In men’s singles, Pranauv Ram Nagalingam beat Myanmar’s Lal Zuidika 21-15, 21-7. Ansh Negi overcame Ding Han Jin 21-16, 21-15, and there were straight-game wins for Hmar Lalthazuala and Rounak Chouhan.

In doubles, Kalagotla/Reshika Uthayasooriyan beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Vu Ngoc Tran/Pham Thi Truc An 21-16, 21-14, while Gayatri/Mansa Rawat edged out Andrea Hernandez/Mary Untal 21-17, 21-18. Vishnu Kode/Keerthy Manchala held firm in a 22-20, 16-21, 21-19 mixed doubles win.

Meanwhile, Rujula Ramu and the C Lalramsanga/Taarini Suri exited early from the top tournament for junior shuttlers.

Earlier, India’s junior badminton team put up a strong fight before going down 110-104 to former champions Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships.

In a closely contested tie under the relay scoring system, India came out strong after a narrow 11-9 loss in the opening match. The boys’ doubles duo of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu got India on the board, followed by a composed win from the girls’ pair of Vennala Kalagotla and Reshika Uthayasooriyan to put India ahead 33-26. Reshika then combined with Bhavya Chhabra to maintain the lead at 44-35, and Rounak Chouhan extended the cushion with another solid performance.

India led for a major part of the tie, but Japan, the 2023 champions, pulled ahead in the final stretch, winning the last five matches in a row. Several of those games went down to the wire, reflecting the grit of the Indian squad.

--IANS

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