West Zone Inter-State Badminton Championship held at the Campal Indoor Stadium in Panaji, The tournament was inaugurated by Sports Minister Ramesh Tawadkar and other dignitaries.
PANAJI
Goa’s Junior Boys team registered a hard-fought and thrilling 2-0 victory over Madhya Pradesh to storm into the semi-finals on the opening day of the Yonex-Sunrise West Zone Inter State Badminton Championships 2025, being held at the Indoor Stadium, Campal, Panaji from September 3 to 6.
In a closely contested quarterfinal, Arjun Bhagat in singles and the doubles pair of Aswin Mannambalath with Shaheen Cherkala Kunjutty held their nerve in three-game battles to seal Goa’s spot in the last four. However, the spirited Goa boys went down fighting to Chhattisgarh 2-0 in the semi-finals, bowing out after a commendable performance.
In the Men’s Team event, Goa showed grit before eventually losing to a strong Maharashtra side 3-1 with Arjun Rehani securing the lone Goa win in his singles match, while in the Women’s Team championship, Goa lost 3-0 to Gujarat. The Junior Girls team also put up a brave display before going down narrowly 2-1 to Madhya Pradesh in their quarterfinal tie.
The opening day also set the stage for high-octane finals across all categories. In the Men’s Team Championship, Maharashtra will clash with Chhattisgarh for the title, having defeated Madhya Pradesh and Goa respectively in the semi-finals. In the Women’s Team finals, Maharashtra will take on Gujarat, after both sides recorded emphatic wins in their semi-final encounters. The Junior Boys final will see Chhattisgarh face Maharashtra, while the Junior Girls final promises a thrilling contest between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, both of whom emerged strong in the semis.
Results – Junior Boys (Quarterfinals): Madhya Pradesh lost to Goa 0-2 (BS1: Naivaidhya Tonde lost to Arjun Bhagat 21-19, 17-21, 19-21; BD: Angad Muchhal/Dev Kumawat lost to Aswin Mannambalath/Shaheen Cherkala Kunjutty 15-21, 29-27, 19-21).
Semi-finals: Goa lost to Maharashtra [2] 0-2 (BS1: Arjun Bhagat lost to Dev Ruparelia 19-21, 16-21; BD: Aswin Mannambalath/Shaheen Cherkala Kunjutty lost to Arjun Birajdar/Aryan Birajdar 15-21, 10-21).
Junior Girls (Quarterfinals): Goa lost to Madhya Pradesh 1-2 (GS1: Mahi Pawar lost to Yashila Ritika Chelluri 18-21, 14-21; GD: Aastha Sharma/Krati Tiwari beat Saanvi Audi/Synnovia Izabel D’Souza 21-12, 21-10; GS2: Anushka Shahapurkar beat Aarohi Yogesh Coutoncar 21-9, 21-12).
Earlier in the day, the Championships were inaugurated in a glittering ceremony graced by Chief Guest Shri Ramesh Tawadkar, Honourable Sports Minister of Goa, along with Secretary Sports Shri Santosh Sukhadeve (IAS), Director of Sports & Youth Affairs Shri Dr. Ajay Gaude, Host Goa Badminton Association (GBA) President Manoj Patil, GBA Secretary Praveen Shenoy, BAI Vice Presidents Narahar Thakur and Mayur Parikh, besides other dignitaries and members of the Organising Committee.
