The Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur was buzzing with youthful energy on Thursday as the third day of the Shri O N Dixit Memorial District Open Badminton tournament unfolded. The spotlight shone brightly on the Under-11 categories, where new champions were crowned and future stars made their mark.
Young Champions Rise to the Occasion
In the U-11 girls singles final, Rashi Singhal delivered a dominant performance to claim the title. She ousted Ruhani Yadav in two straightforward games, securing victory with scores of 21-5 and 21-7. This triumph capped off a successful campaign for the young athlete.
The boys' U-11 section witnessed a major upset. Mudit Pandey produced a brilliant performance to shock the top seed, Anis Chahar, winning decisively 21-8, 21-10. Carrying this momentum into the semi-finals, Pandey defeated Pranab Mulchandani 21-13, 21-7 to book his place in the final. He will face Vedhay Jain, who secured his spot by downing Naitik Bansal 21-10, 21-12 in the other semi-final.
Padmaja Singh's Double Delight
One of the standout stories of the day was the continued excellence of Padmaja Singh. Repeating her brilliant form from earlier rounds, she stormed into the finals of both the U-13 and U-17 girls' categories.
In the U-13 semi-final, Padmaja thumped Mohika Kaushal 21-9, 21-3. She followed this up with another commanding win in the U-17 semi-final, defeating Varsha Singh 21-10, 21-14. In the U-17 category, she will meet Advika Sharma, who triumphed over Pearl Pareek 28-26, 21-17 in a tense 45-minute clash. Aaradhya Bishnoi also advanced to the U-13 final after getting the better of Hanika 21-17, 21-17.
Other Notable Advances
The action extended across other age groups, with several players securing semi-final berths. In the U-11 boys semi-finals, Naitik Bansal trounced Heemaksh 21-13, 21-14, while Lakshit Rewar dismissed Shiv Chauhan 21-12, 21-17.
The U-15 boys category will see Tapeshwar Poonia, Jigyasa, Manavik Bhardwaj, and Nikhil Nath compete in the semi-finals. In the girls' U-15 section, Padmaja, Ojaswita, Aaradhya Sharma, and Aaradhya Dhingra have made it to the last four.
Meanwhile, Bhavya Agarwal, Rudra Devanda, Satyam Gurjar, and Akshat Shekhawat have entered the semi-finals of the Boys Under-17 category.
Tournament Schedule Ahead
According to organising secretary Atul Gupta, the tournament is set for an exciting Friday finish. The Under-11 and U-13 boys finals, along with the U-13 girls final, are scheduled to be played. All remaining singles matches will also be concluded on the same day.
Gupta added that the doubles and mixed doubles matches will commence from 11 am, while the veteran matches are slated to begin from 5 pm. The event at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium continues to be a vital platform for budding badminton talent in the region.
