Over 300 fight it out at badminton tourney

Winners of the State junior and inter-district badminton championship in Tiruchi on Monday. Photo: M.Moorthy

The five-day State junior and inter-district badminton championship, which concluded here on Monday, was packed with action.

Organised by the Badminton Association of Tiruchi (BAT) at its indoor stadium in Anna Nagar, Thennur, the tourney that was conducted in the under-19 and under-17 age categories attracted over 300 shuttlers from different parts of the State. The tournament began with the inter-district event and was followed by open events (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles).

“Badminton’s popularity is growing at a brisk pace in the district and hosting a State championship gives greater impetus,” said R. Rajkumar, secretary, BAT.

Around 15 players from Tiruchi took part in the tourney with Sakthi Maheswari, who teamed up with Aswini Gandhimathi of Virudhunagar, making it to the semi-finals in the girls’ under-19 and under-17 doubles event.

At the valediction, S. Raghunathan, deputy general manager, Karur Vysya Bank, and P. Kalaiselvan, district sports officer, gave away the prizes.

The winners:

Boys:

Inter-district: Coimbatore. Under-19: Singles: Karan Rajan; Doubles: Karan Rajan and Poun Sharath; Mixed doubles: Ramya Tulasi and Mithilesh. Under-17: Singles: Chandramouleeswar; Doubles: Chandramouleeswar and Prannoy.

Girls:

Inter-district: Coimbatore. Under-19: Singles: Aditi Anand; Doubles: Aditi Anand and Anuswara. Under-17: Singles: Aditi Anand; Doubles: Kshmaa and Yogitha.