Mayank off to a good start

Bolstered with a game under his wings,Mayank went all attacking in the final game and had Rajat at his mercy with his drop shots and long rallies. He won 21-13 to advance into the next round.

However,his compatriots had easy matches. Hardhik easily dismantled Aman Malik 21-6,21-11,Viraj outplayed Anish Garg 21-6,21-3,Ishant got the better of Rohan Sikka 21-14,21-9 and Shubham easil defeated Anmol 21-10,21-11,to surge ahead in the tournament.

Similarly,in another exciting encounter of the day,Ishant staved off a strong challenge from Aman and overpowered him 23-21,21-16. Both the players went neck to neck in the first game.

Drop shots,wristy work from both the players ensured that there wasn’t any dull moment in their match. Instead of going for smashes,both the players looked to tire each other by indulging in long rallies. However,they also never let go of any opportunities to score points and kept the score board ticking. As the match progressed,Ishant had luck going his way and won the first game narrowly by 23-21.

Even in the second game,both the players started off on a cautious note,but the whole complexion of the game changed suddenly when Ishant unleashed a flurry of smashes to win few points at a stretch. He won 21-16.

In other matches in the same category,Pulkit breezed past Amil 21-16,21-17,Anmol outclassed Vardan 21-11,21-08,Janit humbled Chirag 21-07,21-04,Uday defeated Akalava 21-07,21-06,Venktesh got the better of Abhinav 21-11,21-16 and Mayak beat Divesh 21-14,21-19.

The heat continued to build up even in the Under-13 category as Pravar and Yuvraj scorched up the wooden court with some blazing shots. After an error-prone first game which he lost by 16-21,Pravar made a good comeback in the second game and this time he looked more cautious and waited for the opportunity to come his way.

Indulging Yuvraj in long rallies,Praver produced sudden exquisitely crafted shots to win some good points that helped him level the match at 1-all. Going into the final game,Pravar looked confident and he carried the momentum with him and easily defeated Yuvraj 21-10,to make it to the next round.

Results:

Boys: U-10: Sangam bt Aryan 21-14,21-13; Akshat bt Mayank 21-14,21-11; U-13: Rishab bt Samay 21-14,21-19; Pravar bt Yuvraj 16-21,21-17,21-10; Shiraj bt Kushant 21-14,21-16; Yugal bt Vanshaj 21-19,21-07; Rahul bt Bhavadeep 21-06,21-06; Asitatav bt Manav 21-08,21-08; U-15: Pulkit bt Amil 21-16,21-17; Anmol bt Vardan 21-11,21-08; Janit bt Chirag 21-07,21-04; Uday bt Akalava 21-07,21-06; Venktesh bt Abhinav 21-11,21-16; Mayak bt Divesh 21-14,21-19; Ishant bt Aman 23-21,21-16; U-17: Hardhik bt Aman Malik 21-06,21-11; Viraj bt Anish Garg 21-06,21-03; Ishant bt Rohan Sikka 21-14,21-09; Shubam bt Anmol 21-10,21-11; Mayank bt Rajat 15,21,21-11,21-13.

Vansh enters quarters

Top seed Vansh Murad Kalia reached the boy’s Under-17 quarter-final by beating Shivam of Gurdaspur 21-19,21-11,in the Ustad Chaman Lal Ratti Memorial State-level badminton tournament at Raizada Hans Raj Stadium in Jalandhar on Friday.

Hamza Wakil (Jalandhar),Karan Sharma (Jalandhar) and Prajwal (Gurdaspur) joined Vansh Murad Kalia in the semi-finals. Hamza beat Prabhjot Singh (SBSN) 21-16,21-16 and Karan Sharma ousted Madhur of Amritsar 25-23,21-13. In the last quarter-final match,Prajwal rallied to oust Jasraj Bhatia of Jalandhar by 14-21,21-13,21-13.

Results:

Boys Singles Under 10 (q-finals): Jasroo Singh (Asr) bt Khushang Sharma (Jal) 21-19,21-9,Garavpreet Singh (Asr) bt Anmol Bhalla (Jal) 21-7,21-4,Rohan (Moga) w/o Arnav Jain (Ldh),

Abhinav Thakur (Jal) bt Naman Sharma (Pta).

Boys Singles Under 15: Jivesh Khanna w/o Sameer Chhabra (Moga),Annesh Kohli (Jal) bt Arashdeep Singh (SBSN) 21-18,19-21,21-18,Namanver Chhabra (Jal) w/o Manavdeep Singh (Pta),Kushfateh Singh (Ldh) bt Manpreet Singh (Pta) 19-21,21-18,21-15,Anuj Gupta (Jal) bt Pragun (Asr) 12-21,21-15,21-17, Shubham (Pta) bt Soamin Wasson (Jal) 21-5,21-8,Shivam Sharma (Gsp) bt Ishan (Jal) 21-9,21-10,Rishab Goyal (Sang) bt Rachit (Ldh) 21-16,20-23,21-10,Udhav (Asr) bt Mitaksh Gandhi (Ldh) 16-21,21-13,21-15,Rishi (Asr) bt Shubham Sharma (Asr) 21-16,21-17, Dhruv Vashist (Ldh) bt Ritvik Mohanty (Bth) 21-15,21-13.