Karnataka Boys and Tamil Nadu Girls Claim Titles at 49th Junior National Badminton Championship

Gangtok, November 15 (Daily Kiran) : In a thrilling conclusion to the 49th Inter-State Inter-Zonal Junior National Badminton Championship held in Gangtok, Karnataka’s boys and Tamil Nadu’s girls emerged victorious, each winning their finals with a decisive 2-0 scoreline.

This year’s competition opened the door for new champions, as the previous winners—Mizoram’s boys and Telangana’s girls—failed to qualify for the inter-zonal phase. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu seized the opportunity and secured the championship titles.

In the boys’ final, Karnataka triumphed over Assam with a 2-0 victory. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s girls defeated the silver medalists from last year, Delhi, also with a score of 2-0.

The girls’ team kicked off their final with a strong performance from Diksha SR, the 2025 Asian Under-17 Girls Singles Champion, who defeated Rishika Nandi 15-12, 15-12. Following this, the women’s doubles pair of Ananya Arun and Anjana Manikandan secured the win by overcoming Nandi and Ishita Negi in a closely contested match, finishing 16-14, 12-15, 15-10.

In the boys’ singles final, Hardik Divyansh claimed victory against the 2023 Asian Under-15 Champion, Bornil Changmai. Subsequently, the formidable duo of Pawan and Puneet Suresh defeated Changmai and Anayan Borah, sealing the championship with a score of 9-15, 15-10, 7-15.

Earlier in the tournament, Maharashtra’s girls defeated Assam 2-0, while Haryana’s boys matched the feat against Maharashtra. Both Uttarakhand’s boys and girls advanced to the semifinals by beating the host team, Sikkim, in their respective events.

In a historic move, the championship featured 17 umpires selected from across the country, chosen based on their performance at the All India Ranking Tournament (Under-15/Under-17) held in Jaipur earlier this year.