India start strong at Junior Badminton event

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India made a strong start at the Badminton Asia Junior Individual Championships 2025, with standout wins from Vennala Kalagotla and Tanvi Sharma in the women’s singles matches. Vennala claimed two straight victories—first defeating Alissa Kuleshova 21-6, 21-10 in just 15 minutes, and then beating Indonesia’s Auberta Zerlina 21-18, 21-16 to reach the Round-of-32.

Second seed Tanvi Sharma also advanced comfortably, beating Vaidehi Kalidasan of the UAE 21-6, 21-6. Another Indian, Tanvi Reddy Andluri, won her match against Cheok Ian Ung 21-9, 21-10.

In men’s singles, Pranauv Ram Nagalingam defeated Myanmar’s Lal Zuidika 21-15, 21-7. Ansh Negi also won his match, along with Hmar Lalthazuala and Rounak Chouhan, all in straight games.

India’s doubles teams also performed well. Kalagotla and Reshika Uthayasooriyan beat a Vietnamese pair 21-16, 21-14, while Gayatri and Mansa Rawat edged out their opponents 21-17, 21-18. Vishnu Kode and Keerthy Manchala battled hard to win their mixed doubles match in three games.

However, Rujula Ramu and the pair of C Lalramsanga and Taarini Suri exited early from the tournament.

Earlier, India narrowly lost to Japan 110-104 in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships. The tie used a relay scoring format, and India led for most of the match. However, Japan, the 2023 champions, made a comeback by winning the last five matches in a row. India showed great fight throughout the contest.