Malvika Bansod, Rohan Gurbani start Junior National Badminton campaign on winning note

NAGPUR:

Malvika Bansod

and

Rohan Gurbani

launched their campain in style in the Yonex-Sunrise 43rd Junior National Badminton Championships at Lucknow on Tuesday.


Second seed Malvika, who got a bye in the first round, dismissed Himanshi Rawat of Uttarakhand 21-10, 21-5 in the U-19 girls singles second round.

A Standard XII student of Shivaji Science College, Malvika needed just 21 minutes to oust Himanshi. Southpaw Malvika will take on Ishita Kumar Manchander of Chandigarh in the third round on Wednesday.

In the U-19 boys singles, Rohan Gurbani also registered a quick-fire straight-game win over M Titak of Podicherry in the U-19 boys singles first round. Unseeded Rohan ousted Tilak 21-9, 21-5 in 26 minutes to enter the second round.

Sixteen-year-old Rohan, who recently became the new U-17 boys singles national champion, will face J Anish Chandra of Telangana.

Meanwhile, city’s doubles players will be seen in action from Wednesday. Top seeds Ritika Thaker and Simran Singhi (Mumbai) will lock horns with Priyanka Kanwal and Sneha Rajwar in the girls doubles.

Fifth seeds in the mixed doubles, Rashi Lambe and Akshay Shetty (Mumbai) will square off against Suraj Goala and Maini Boruah.

State U-19 mixed doubles champions Gaurav Mithe and Livia Fernandez will run into third seeds Sai Pratheek Krishna Prasad and K Ashwini Bhat of Karnataka in the first round.

Gaurav Mithe and Ajinkya Patharkar will meet Anushrav Garg and Devesh Mittal in the U-19 boys doubles Round 1.

Earlier in the team championship, West Zone champions Maharashtra finished runners-up. In the summit clash, Manipur defeated Maharashtra 3-1.

In the semifinals, Maharashtra had blanked Delhi 3-0. City’s Rohan Gurbani, Gaurav Mithe and Rashi Lambe were part of the Maharashtra squad.

NAGPUR RESULTS

U-19 girls singles: 2-Malvika Bansod bt Himanshi Rawat 21-10, 21-5.

U-19 boys singles: Rohan Gurbani bt Tilak M 21-9, 21-5.