Saanvi, Crisanne, Vansh and Sanand in semi-finals

Team Herald

sports@herald-goa.com

PANJIM: Saanvi Audi, Crisanne D’Sa, Vansh Natekar and Sanand Nair advanced to the semi-finals in the U-17 singles categories of the Sunlite State Ranking Badminton Tournament 2024 organised by the Sunlite Sports and Cultural Club and Shri Ashok Walke Charitable Trust in partnership with the Goa Badminton Association and Sports Authority of Goa, marking a significant conclusion to the year’s badminton season in the State, at the Indoor Stadium, Campal, here, on Tuesday.

This prestigious event has brought together Goa’s finest young talents who are battling for the prize purse of Rs 2.25 lakh.

In the U-17 girls’ singles, Saanvi Audi and Crisanne D'Sa have reached the semi-finals, joined by competitors Shivanjali Thite and Sufiya Shaikh. In U-17 boys, Vansh Natekar, Sanand Nair, Advait Balakrishnan and Rutav Kanabar advanced into the semi-finals round.

The U-13 boys’ singles category, Umar Shaikh, Raunak Ghadi, Viraditya Pai Kane and Michael Mare reached in the final four, while in the girls’ singles, Avni Khyalia, Niharika Parwar, Palak Ramnathkar and Pragya Audi have made it to the semi-finals.

In the U-11 boys’ singles, Michael Mare, Mihir Chafadkar, Ayansh Sanke, and Pratik Naik Borkar will battle for a place in the finals. Meanwhile, in the girls’ singles, young talents Amaira Dhumatkar, Komal Kothari, Aditi Dhargalkar and Kanika Pai Vernekar moved forward to the semi-finals.

The U-17 mixed doubles category has seen impressive pairs advancing, including Advait Balakrishnan and Sufiya Shaikh, Aloisius Rodrigues and Minoshka Pereira, Shane D’Souza and Saanvi Audi, as well as Shaheen C K and Aarohi Coutoncar.

In the U-17 boys’ doubles, the semi-final line-up features the duos of Advait Balakrishnan and Shaheen C K, Arnav Saraf and Shane D’Souza, Mohammed Umar Shaikh and Sparsh Kolwalkar, and Aloisius Rodrigues and Sanand Nair.

The U-17 girls’ doubles category also has top pairs progressing, including Arya Shinkre and Harshita Gade, Minoshka Pereira and Saanvi Audi, Aarohi Coutoncar and Dimple Revankar, along with Shivanjali Thite and Sufiya Shaikh.

Earlier, the tournament was inaugurated by Satish Pandurang Shirodkar, trustee of Ashok Walke Charitable Trust in the presence of Praveen Shenoy, Secretary of Goa Badminton Association; club members Rupchandra Humraskar (president), Arnaldo Rodrigues (secretary), Bhushan Vernekar (treasurer), Marina Albuquerque (tournament director), Sandeep Heble (referee) among others.