Jalandhar, August 16
Jagsher Singh Khangura of Patiala and Inayat Gulati of Jalandhar emerged champions in the men’s and women’s singles respectively at the Innocent Hearts Punjab State Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament, which concluded at the Raizada Hansraj Badminton Stadium here on Sunday. The winners will represent Punjab at the North Zone Championship next month.
The men’s singles final witnessed a thrilling battle, with Jagsher Singh Khangura edging past Jalandhar’s Viren Seth 15-10, 10-15, 20-18. The women’s singles final was equally closely contested, as Inayat Gulati overcame Gurdaspur’s Mehvish Kaur 9-15, 15-9, 19-17.
In the Under-19 boys’ singles final, Viren Seth defeated fellow Jalandhar player Divyam Sachdeva 15-9, 9-15, 15-1. Mehvish Kaur bounced back from her senior singles defeat to beat Inayat Gulati 15-11, 15-13 in the Under-19 girls’ singles final.
Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner Ramvir Singh, IAS, was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony. Congratulating the winners and participants, he said, “A true champion is not defined only by how they celebrate victory, but by how they treat others after winning.” He stressed that players should always respect their opponents and display grace in defeat, as these qualities define a true champion.
Giving details of the final results, Punjab Badminton Association secretary Ritin Khanna said that in Under-19 girls’ doubles, Samaira Arora and Seeza won the title, while Dishika Suri and Upneet Kaur finished runners-up. Gurleen Kaur Dhillon and Gursimrat Kaur Chahal, and Amelia Bhakoo and Ananya Nijhawan shared third place.
In Under-19 boys’ doubles, Aditya Sharma and Viren Seth emerged champions, with Akhil Arora and Kritagya Arora finishing runners-up. Anirudh Gilhotra and Zorawar Singh, and Rudraksh Kashnia and Smarth Bhardwaj shared third place.
In Under-19 mixed doubles, Smarth Bhardwaj and Seeza claimed the title, while Shiven Dhingra and Ananya Nijhawan were runners-up. Arnav Thakur and Liyazdeep Kaur, and Kritagya Arora and Samaira Arora shared third place.
In mixed doubles, Syam Prasad Udayakumar and Liza Taank won the title, while Mridul Jha and Manya Ralhan finished runners-up. Shiven Dhingra and Ananya Nijhawan, and Akarshit Sharma and Seeza shared third place.
In women’s doubles, Manya Ralhan and Saanvi Nautiyal emerged champions, while Liza Taank and Seeza finished runners-up. Dishika Suri and Upneet Kaur, and Amelia Bhakoo and Ananya Nijhawan shared third place.
In men’s doubles, Arryan Aji and Syam Prasad Udayakumar clinched the title, while Anish Bhardwaj and Mridul Jha finished runners-up.
Senior PBA office-bearers Rakesh Khanna, Harpreet Singh, Dhiraj Sharma and Shamsher Singh Dhillon were also present at the ceremony.