Goa's Devansh Sakpal in action.
Photo Credits: The Goan
PANAJI
Goa’s Owais Tahasildar and Devansh Sakpal extended their strong performances at the Yonex-Sunrise All India Sub Junior (U-15 & U-17) Ranking Badminton Tournament 2025, being held at the Multipurpose Stadium in Peddem.
On the second day of qualification matches, Owais delivered a dominant display in the Boys U-17 category, easing past Tamil Nadu’s Sabareeshwaran Loganathan Gayathri 15-4, 15-9. Devansh Sakpal was made to work harder, battling through a tense first game before defeating Gujarat’s Rudra Pratap Singh 19-17, 15-5. Their victories ensured continued local representation in a highly competitive field featuring top talent from across the country.
Goa’s Shane D’Souza, one of the State’s top prospects, fought hard but was edged out by Maharashtra’s Anishwarya Deshmukh 15-13, 15-9 in a closely contested match.
However, several other Goan players were unable to progress further. In the Boys U-17 draw, Harsh Mulik fell to Gagan Singh of Haryana 9-15, 11-15; Ramchandra Patil was beaten 5-15, 5-15 by Aanash Dhamala of Sikkim; and Shaurya Naik lost 7-15, 4-15 to Maharashtra’s top-seeded Sachet Tripathy. Gaurav Paradkar, Aloisius Rodrigues, Shane D’Souza (in a second draw), and Raj Dhume also exited the tournament following straight-game defeats to higher-ranked opponents.
In the Girls U-15 category, Vidhi Saini of Maharashtra proved too strong for Goa’s Avni Khyalia, winning 15-5, 15-8. In the Girls U-17 section, Sufiya Shaikh put up a valiant fight but ultimately lost to Madhya Pradesh’s eighth seed Nitya Jadon 12-15, 10-15.
From the national circuit, several top seeds progressed as expected. In the Boys U-17 category, Maharashtra’s top seed Avadhut Kadam advanced with a solid win over Karnataka’s Heshaan Harish. Haryana’s second seed Parth Gawri cruised past Shayaan Faaz of Karnataka 15-7, 15-7. Third seed Parth Puri (Gujarat) was taken the distance by Jasraj Singh Saluja (Madhya Pradesh), eventually prevailing 15-13, 16-18, 15-11. Fourth seed Sivacharan Ganesan (Tamil Nadu) eased past Shashish Potanaboina (Andhra Pradesh) 15-9, 15-2.
In the Girls U-17 draw, top seed Shantipriya Hazarika of Assam was in ruthless form, defeating Mausam Mane Patil (Maharashtra) 15-3, 15-5. Rithwika Sree Bhukya of Telangana also advanced after second seed Harini Raja of Tamil Nadu withdrew, handing her a walkover.
