Former U-17 national champion and member of this year’s Asian Championships-winning Indian women’s team, Tanvi Sharma will be among the top contenders in the girls’ U-19 category at the 31st Yonex Sunrise Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Prize Money Tournament to be held here from September 12-19.
The tournament, which is being organised by Express Shuttle Club Trust under the aegis of Haryana Badminton Association, is one of the junior events on the Badminton Association of India (BAI) domestic calendar and will be played at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex in Sector 3.
“We have received 1,014 entries for the tournament. It is an important tournament on the BAI calendar and offers ranking points to U-19 players. Last year’s finalist Tanvi Sharma is the leading contender in the girls’ U-19 category and players like top seed Rujula Ramu of Karnataka and Medhavi Nagar of Haryana too will be top draws of the event,” said tournament director Sanjiv Sachdeva, who has been the chief coach of the Indian junior team in the past and is a member of BAI’s selection committee.
Last month’s All India Junior Ranking Tournament winner Rounak Chouhan of Chhattisgarh will be the top seed in the boys’ U-19 singles category while defending champion Pranauv Ram of Telangana has been seeded second.
Some of the top U-19 players, like Asian U-15 champion Tanvi Patri and Asian U-17 bronze medallist Gnana Dattu, are part of the national camp for the world junior badminton championship this week.
In the boys’ doubles U-19 category, Vinayakram GP and Swastik Matharasan of Telangana are the top seeds as are Pragati Parida and Vishaka Toppo of Orissa in the girls’ U-19 section. Mithliesh P Krishnan of Puducherry and Manya Ralhan of Punjab National Bank have been drawn as top seeds in the mixed doubles U-19 category.
The tournament has a prize money of Rs 4 lakh, sanctioned by BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma, from the quarter-finals onwards. “Last year, we saw talents like Anmol Kharb and Tanvi Sharma emerging from the tournament. This year too, we expect some new talents to come out. The main draw for boys’ and girls’ singles will be of 32 each while the rest of the categories will see main draws of 16,” said Sachdeva.
Saina Nehwal won the girls’ singles title in 2005 while PV Sindhu won the title in 2010. Last year, Haryana’s Anmol won the girls’ U-19 title beating Tanvi of Punjab in the final.
“Players born on or after January 1, 2006, are eligible to take part in the tournament and BAI obersevers will be strictly adhering to the age guidelines,” added Sachdeva.
Devender Singh, IAS, President, and Ajay Kumar Singhania, General Secretary, Haryana Badminton Association and Vice-President, Badminton Association of India, allotted the tournament to the Express Shuttle Club Trust.
A.J. Singh, Executive Director, Tynor Orthotics Pvt. Ltd., will be the chief guest at the opening ceremony. Madhu Bhatia, W/o Late Wg. Cdr. Satish Bhatia, and Ravinder Talwar, Vice President, Chandigarh Badminton Association, will be guests of honour.
K.D. Singh, Chairman, Alchemist Group, will be the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony and former international player K.K. Cheema will be the guest of honour.
Lokesh Kumar Soni will officiate as the tournament referee, with Parijat Natu as deputy referee. Pankaj Saini will be the Match Controller for the tournament.
