PANAJI
Goa’s young rising shuttler 15-year-old Aarush Pawaskar clinched a bronze medal in Men’s Singles at the prestigious VICTOR Bulgarian Junior Open 2026 on Sunday.
The podium finish marked a critical milestone for the talented young player as he accelerates his transition from the under-17 category into the highly competitive under-19 international circuit.
“We purposely put Aarush in the under-19 category at Bulgarian Junior Open so that he can face tough competition even though he was getting to play in the under-17 category. He played exceptionally well to defeat very good opponents in the tournament,” Aarush’s father Sandesh Pawaskar told The Goan.
This is Aarush’s second medal at the international level after he had won a silver in under-17 at France Open in 2025.
Aarush’ badminton journey started in Mumbai. Aarush’s parents who are originally from Goa, had shifted to Mumbai for work-related purpose.
“Aarush was born in Mumbai. He was a hyper-active child when he was small. As per doctors’ advice, we had to put him in some kind of sport. So, we put him in skating. He picked up skating very fast. He was very good at skating and has around 35-40 medals in skating. But that sport was little dangerous. There was not much infrastructure for the sport in India.,” Sandesh Pawaskar said.
Aarush’s father Sandesh is a state-level badminton player and had represented Goa.
“I used to take Aarush along with me while going to play badminton. He started showing interest in the sport. So, we put him in a badminton academy in Thane. He picked up the sport very fast. Then Covid happened and we shifted to Goa.”
Sandesh further added, “In Mapusa, Aarush trained under Roy sir for almost two-and-half years where he received good training. We then shifted back to Thane where he trained under coach Amit Khadgi.”
Aarush’s level started increasing. So, they shifted their base to Bangalore for better training purpose around three years back. Aarush now trains under coach Uttsav Mishra at the Lakshyan Sports Academy.
Aarush’s mother who is a lactation consultant and was attached with four hospitals in Thane quit her job to be along with Aarush in Bangalore.
Under the expert guidance of coach Uttsav Mishra, Aarush undergoes a rigorous multi-hour daily routine that balances advanced on-court tactical and technical drills, intense physical conditioning, strength building, and agility training.
“Aarush is a very hard-working boy. He trains for nearly six hours a day, from 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM in the morning which includes one hour of yoga and from 03:00 PM – 05:00 PM in the evening,“ Sandesh Pawaskar said.
Aarush has shown remarkable progress in his badminton journey. He is a two-time U-17 Goa State champion and has accumulated multiple regional ranking titles across the U-13, U-15, and U-17 categories.
His national breakthrough came when he was 14 years old, he reached the pre-quarterfinals of the Khelo India Youth Games while playing up in the U-19 category.
Shortly after that, he secured a quarter-final finish in the U-15 Boys' Doubles at the Yonex-Sunrise Sub-Junior National Badminton Championships in Chennai.
Today, Aarush proudly holds the India No. 8 ranking in U-17 Boys' Singles.
Last year, when he won a silver at the France Open U-17 category, Aarush became the first non-European player to ever reach the finals of a Badminton Europe Cooperation (BEC) in U-17 circuit event.
With his latest performance in Bulgaria, Aarush is firmly on track to break into the Top 40 BWF Junior World Rankings (U-19) by December 2026
Aarush has been supported by sponsors Goa Carbon Limited and Solas Marine in his journey.
Despite his grueling training schedule, Aarush recently graduated from the Hiranandani Foundation School, Thane under ICSE Board, scoring an extraordinary 93.2% in his 10th-grade board exams. He is now pursuing Commerce stream for his higher secondary education.
Among future goals, Aarush wants to win more international medals and titles and make the country and state proud.
