Goa's Nishant Shenai in action.
Photo Credits: The Goan
PANAJI
Goa’s top-ranked player in juniors, Nishant Shenai produced a superb fightback to move into the second round of the Yonex Sunrise All India Junior (U19) Ranking Badminton Goa 2022, at Manohar Parrikar indoor stadium, Navelim on Monday.
Nishant overcame a stiff challenge from Kerala’s Aman Suresh SM 13-21, 30-29, 21-19 in a gruelling one-hour 14-minute encounter. He was the only Goan to advance in the singles event among four players who were in the singles main draw. Goa has three more pairs competing in the doubles events.
Nishant looked down and out, losing the first set quite tamely but then staged a remarkable recovery to win the second set 30-29 and take the match to the third. The third set was also a close affair with fortunes fluctuating every few points. But backed by the home crowd, Nishant held his nerves to win the decider 21-19.
Meanwhile, Goa’s number two-ranked Anish Kamath went down to Saanidhya Sharma 16-21, 10-21. Earlier, Nidhi Desai lost to Tara Shah 5-21, 5-21 in 18 minutes, while Janhavi Mahale went down fighting to Mahnoor Kaur 17-21, 16-21 in 27 minutes in the girls singles.
Among the big names from Indian badminton women’s circuit, sixth seed and highly rated Unnati Hooda from Haryana breezed past Pragnya KPS 21-9, 21-10 in 26 minutes in the opening round. Fourth seed Anupama Upadhyaya beat Rujula Ramu 21-15, 21-11. In one of the most exciting tussles in the competition, Samayara Panwar of UP defeated Priyanka Pant of MP 20-22, 21-19, 24-22 in a marathon one-hour nail-biter of a finish.
Earlier in the afternoon, the tournament was inaugurated by Sports Minister Govind Gaude in the presence of Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, Sports Authority of Goa Executive Director Ajay Gaude, Margao city chairperson Lyndon Pereira, MMC Chief Officer Rohit Kadam, BAI observer Mayur Parikh, India international players Anura Prabhu Desai and Unnati Hooda, among others. The week-long tournament is being hosted by Goa Badminton Association under aegis / collaboration of Badminton Association of India, North Goa District Badminton Association and the Sports Authority of Goa.
