Pune, 1 September (Sports Desk)
Indian shuttlers shone at the India Junior International Grand Prix 2025 in Pune, securing two gold, one silver, and four bronze medals. Unseeded pairs Vansh Dev-Shravani Walekar and Aanya Bisht-Angel Punera won the mixed doubles and women’s doubles titles, respectively, on Sunday.
In an all-Indian mixed doubles final at the P. E. Society’s Modern PDMBA Sports Complex, Vansh Dev and Shravani Walekar dominated second seeds C Lalramsanga and Taarini Suri, winning 21-12, 21-13 in just 28 minutes to claim the gold medal.
In the U-19 women’s doubles, unseeded Indians Aanya Bisht and Angel Punera staged a comeback against Japan’s fifth seeds Aoi Banno and Yuzu Ueno, losing the first game 21-23 but rebounding with a 21-12 victory in the second and clinching the decider 21-17 after a gripping 70-minute match to secure the gold.
watch……Celebrating India’s 2-1 Victory: A New Dawn in Football
Japan’s Kazuma Kawano achieved a double crown, winning the U-19 men’s singles and men’s doubles titles. In the all-Japanese singles final, ninth-seeded Kawano outlasted second seed Hyuga Takano 23-21, 18-21, 25-23 in a 69-minute thriller. In the men’s doubles, Kawano paired with Shuji Sawada to defeat compatriots Shunsei Nemoto and Nagi Yoshitsugu 21-15, 21-18.
In the U-19 women’s singles, Japan’s Yuzuno Watanabe overcame 10th-seeded Yurika Nagafuchi 16-21, 21-13, 21-17 to claim the title.
India’s Bornil Aakash Changmai and Zenith Abbigail reached the mixed doubles semi-finals but fell short of the final on Saturday. With a total haul of two golds, one silver, and four bronzes, Indian shuttlers delivered a strong performance at the tournament.
