Jalandhar, August 26
Aneesh Bhardwaj and Manya Ralhan emerged champions in the men’s and women’s singles events respectively as the four-day Innocent Hearts Jalandhar District Badminton Championship concluded at the Raizada Hansraj Badminton Stadium here on Tuesday.
In the men’s singles final Aneesh Bhardwaj Defeated Zorawar Singh 13-15,15-8,15-11 while in women’s singles final, Manya Ralhan defeated defending champion Samridhi Bhardwaj 15-10, 15-11 to claim the title. Both singles winners were presented the prestigious Pullela Gopichand and PV Sindhu trophies along with a cash prize of Rs 21,000 each.
Former national badminton player Kanwaljit Singh Kaka was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the sport and his services to badminton.
Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Singh Walia (IAS), who was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony, also honoured Dr Nitish Garg and Dr Piyush Sharma with the Life Saviour Award for saving the life of a player at the stadium recently by administering CPR.
Congratulating the winners and participants, Walia appreciated the efforts of the interim committee of the District Badminton Association, Jalandhar, for improving facilities and working for the welfare of players. He said the Mann government was fully committed to the promotion and upliftment of sports in Punjab.
The Deputy Commissioner said that over the past four years, the state government had developed 3,100 rural sports grounds and 600 rural gyms. He added that under the updated sports policy, Rs 135 crore had been awarded as prize money to 40,415 athletes. He further said Jalandhar was set to host the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy as well as the Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship later this year. Dr Rohan Bowry, Director, Innocent Hearts Group, was the guest of honour.
Giving details of the championship, Punjab Badminton Association Secretary Ritin Khanna said the tournament witnessed a record response, with more than 600 entries received for the first time in the history of the District Badminton Association, Jalandhar. Over 600 players competed in 38 events across age groups ranging from Under-11 to the 65+ veteran category. A total of 504 matches were played during the four-day championship.
Khanna said cash prizes and other attractive awards worth Rs 5 lakh were distributed among the winners. Special arrangements for refreshments, including drinks and snacks were also made for the participants throughout the championship.
Senior office-bearers of the District Badminton Association Rakesh Khanna, Harpreet Singh, Palwinder Juneja and Dhiraj Sharma were also present at the prize distribution ceremony.
The final results were as below : In the Under-11 Boys’ Singles final, Vansh Sharma defeated Samarveer Singh 15-13, 15-8, while Samreet Kaur won the Under-11 Girls’ Singles title after beating Aradhya 15-6, 15-12. Ameera and Rinzen Singh emerged winners in the Under-11 Girls’ Doubles, defeating Sargun Bajaj and Sargun Kaur 15-9, 15-9.
In the Under-13 category, Abhijay Manaktala defeated Samarveer Singh 15-9, 15-5 to win the Boys’ Singles title. Nimrat Kaur Mann beat Varanya Soni 15-6, 15-7 in the Girls’ Singles final. Nimrat Kaur Mann and Varanya Soni also clinched the Girls’ Doubles title, defeating Aaina Chopra and Hargun Kaur 15-6, 15-8.
The Under-15 finals witnessed some closely fought encounters. Zorawar Singh Lubhana came from a game down to defeat Dipansh Kundra 11-15, 15-12, 15-9 in Boys’ Singles. Prabhsirat Kaur defeated Suvreen Kaur 17-15, 10-15, 15-8 in Girls’ Singles. Myrah Chopra and Suvreen Kaur won the Girls’ Doubles title after a thrilling 11-15, 17-15, 20-18 victory over Nimrat Kaur Mann and Prabhsirat Kaur.
In the Under-17 category, Zorawar Singh defeated Manthan Dogra 15-9, 15-9 in Boys’ Singles, while Shivali Sharma overcame Simarpreet Kaur 15-9, 11-15, 15-8 in Girls’ Singles. Prabhsirat Kaur and Suvreen Kaur won the Girls’ Doubles final against Ananya Sharma and Rizul Mehta 15-4, 15-9.
In Under-19 Boys’ Singles, Zorawar Singh defeated Smarth Bhardwaj 15-4, 15-11. Shivali Sharma registered a hard-fought 14-16, 15-12, 15-12 win over Simarpreet Kaur in Girls’ Singles.
In the Women’s Doubles final, Manya Ralhan & Simarpreet Kaur beat Ria Kundra and Samridhi Bhardwaj 15-9, 15-9.
The Masters events also produced competitive badminton. Vikas Khanna defeated Suraj Rai Khullar 15-10, 14-16, 15-13 in the Men’s 40+ Singles final. Manish Aggarwal beat Kamaljit 9-15, 17-15, 15-7 in Men’s 50+, while Santokh Singh defeated Rajeev Handa 15-11, 15-2 in Men’s 55+. Ram Lakhan won the Men’s 60+ title after defeating Sudhakar Sharma 15-12, 15-11.
Among the doubles results, Abhinav Bahri & Anand beat Akhil Kapoor & Kushal 13-15,15-12,15-11, Deepak Chopra and Harpreet Singh Alhuwalia defeated Dr Nitish Garg and Kamaljit 13-15, 15-8, 15-10 in Men’s 50+ Doubles. Rajeev Handa and Vikas Jain won the Men’s 55+ Doubles, while Ashish Kumar and Vikas Khanna clinched the Men’s 40+ Doubles title after a 11-15, 15-5, 17-15 win.
In the junior doubles events, Adarsh Kumar and Japmanjot Singh Dhami won the Under-13 Boys’ Doubles, Purneet Singh Parmar and Zorawar Singh claimed the Under-17 title, and Achyut Sharma and Ragav Khosla emerged victorious in Under-19 Boys’ Doubles.