Fifteen-year-old Punjab youngster Jagsher Singh Khangura completed a 15-11, 12-15, 15-11 win over Chandigarh's Krishna Sharma in the fourth qualification round to become one of the youngest to make it to the U19 main draw of the Yonex Sunrise 31st Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Prize Money Tournament being played at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex. Khangura was cheered by his teacher parents Manpreet Singh and Rashpal Kaur, who have tried a bunch of academies across India to help the youngster improve his game. The 15-year-old Asian U15 bronze medallist is one of the youngest in the tournaments and with Sunday’s win, his parents travelled from the princely city of Nabha to watch him play over the next week. “Both my parents are teachers and have always given me the belief that if I can play good, then I should not fear playing against higher age group players. This is the first time that I have made it to the U19 main draw in a national ranking tournament and that was my first target. Hopefully, I can extend my good run here and watch my parents celebrate my U19 wins,” shared the youngster while speaking with The Indian Express. It was at a school ground near his home that the then seven-year-old Khangura first practised on a badminton court. With his elder sister pursuing MBBS currently, the Nabha youngster’s interest was always in pursuing sport. A two-year training at Polo ground in nearby Patiala under coach Suresh in his U-10 days would see him winning medals at state level before he shifted to Bahadurgarh to train at Shining Star Academy at the age of 11 in 2022. The 22-months stint at the academy saw him reaching quarterfinals in the All India Ranking tourney in Goa in 2022 before he shifted to Hyderabad to train at Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. While the Patiala youngster would train in Hyderabad for six months only, he returned home for his ninth standard exams, making it to the quarter-finals in National Junior Ranking tournaments at Jaipur and Panchkula last year. "When I told my parents about training at Bahadurgarh, they were a bit skeptical of sending me alone but I knew I could manage. Coaches Chandan Kumar and Veronika Pratama would focus on spending time on stroke training like smash or drop or toss for 100-150 shots per 20 minute sessions and would make me compete in U-15 matches too. While I shifted to Hyderabad, I had to shift back for my studies,” says the Indo-British School student Nabha. Khangura also shifted base to Mumbai to train at Thane Badminton Academy to train under coach Shrikant Vad and alternated with coach Nitesh Kumar at Virar last year. The stint saw him winning bronze in the 35th U-15 Nationals at Hyderabad, where he also paired up with Dev Ruparelia to win the U15 doubles' silver. It also secured him a spot in the Indian team for Asian U15 Championship in China, where he reached the U15 semi-finals before losing to compatriot Akash Changmai. He currently trains as Khelo India trainee at AM (Akshit Mahajan) badminton Academy in Zirakpur, Chandigarh. “Playing in China made me see the Chinese badminton culture and also understand the kind of fitness we need as we grow up. I have been a fan of Lee Chong Wei and the way he used his smash and deceptions. It all came due to his fitness and that’s what juniors like us dream to practice. Even if we can achieve ten percent of it as a junior, it will help us ” signs off the youngster.
