Badminton Association of India announces squad for Badminton Asia Junior Championships

The Badminton Association of India has announced an 18-member team for the Badminton Asia Junior Championships scheduled to be held from June 28 to July 7, 2024, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Indian Junior team shall be led by Senior National finalist Tanvi Sharma, and it will have a contingent of upcoming young talent who shall look at podium finishes in this marquee tournament.

The team was selected after the final selection trial in Delhi from May 20 to 23, 2024, which followed an all-India ranking tournament aimed at determining the country’s best junior talent. That, in turn, was followed by a preparatory camp for the team at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati to fine-tune skills and strategies before flying out to Indonesia.

India comes in Group C with hosts Indonesia, Vietnam, and Philippines. The Indian team would like to finish at or near the top of their group to draw a good combination of matches during the knock-out rounds of this championship.

Expressing optimism over the team’s prospects, BAI General Secretary Sanjay Mishra said, “We have a very strong and balanced squad with the singles as well as doubles players having considerable experience of playing on the national and international stage. We are confident that the team will return with a medal from Indonesia.”

The contingent also includes top junior ranking champions from across India, such as Pranay Shettigar and Aalisha Naik of Maharashtra. Leading the group is the top-ranked Indian junior player, Dhruv Negi, and another versatile player, Navya Kanderi, will enter into the arena in both the girls’ singles and doubles categories.

Here is the full 18-member junior team that will go to the Badminton Asia Junior Championships on behalf of India:

• Boys singles: Pranay Shettigar, Dhruv Negi, Rounak Chouhan and Pranauv Ram N
• Boys doubles: Arsh Mohammad/Sanskar Saraswat and Bhargav Ram Arigela/Viswa Tej Gobburu
• Girls singles: Tanvi Sharma, Navya Kanderi, Aalisha Naik and Adarshini Shri NB
• Girls doubles: Gayatri Rawat/Mansa Rawat and Navya Kanderi/Reshika U
• Mixed doubles: Bhargav Ram Arigela/Vennala K and Vansh Dev/Shravani Walekar

The individual championships will begin right after the team championships are over. India will also participate in both boys’ and girls’ singles with four entries each, while there will be two pairs in both boys’, girls’, and mixed doubles events. The team’s diversified skill set coupled with months of hard preparation will be expected to come handy when they face the best junior badminton talent across Asia.