Lakshya Sen, Vaishnavi Reddy to lead Indian challenge at Badminton Asia Junior Championship 2018

Junior World No.10 Lakshya Sen and World No.4 Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy will lead the Indian bandwagon at the upcoming edition of the Badminton Asia Junior Championship to be played from July 14-22, in Jakarta, Indonesia. The tournament will be played in mixed team format and individual championship.

The mixed team event will be played from July 14-17, while the individual competition starts from July 18 onwards.

The tournament which is in its 21st year of existence will see the former junior world no.1 Sen share responsibilities with young Priyanshu Rajawat who caught the eyes of the selectors during the recent selection trial tournament held recently. India no.1 Amar Farogh and No 3, Kiran George in the boys’ singles category, while Vaishnavi will be complemented by India no.1 Akarshi Kashyap and S. Kavipriya in the girls’ single competition.

The young and talented doubles shuttlers including Manjit Singh Khwairakpam, Dingku Singh, Vishnuvardhan Goud and Sri Krishna Sai Kumar Podile will drive Indian charge in the men’s doubles category while Simran Singhi, Ritika Thaker, K. Preethi and Shristhi Juppudi will lead the challenge in the girls’ doubles event. All the shuttlers featured in the top four of the recently concluded U-19 selection trial championship; just before the team was picked for Indonesia.

The selection committee which met late on Wednesday to decide the squad took into consideration performance of the players over the year as well the way the players have performed in the selection trial matches to finalize the names.

“We watched each player very closely; focusing on their current form and approach to the game was monitored by the panel of junior selectors at the selection trial tournament. The final squad has a good mix and I am confident that they will put up a great show,” said BAI President Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The squad will also have Edwin Joy, Orijit Chaliha, B Sai Rohit and Akash Chandran in the boys and Nafeesah Sara Siraj, Medha Shashidharan and Dipti Kuity in the girls' team.

“We have selected a bigger pool of players this time to give exposure to more number of players. BAI going forward will focus on increasing the bench strength and will target to include more number of youth and junior players for international experience and exposure”, said Ajay K Singhania, General Secretary, BAI.

India’s best results so far at the Junior Continental Championship have been in 2011 when India won a Team Bronze medal. PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma, both have won individual silver medal in 2012 and 2011 respectively and in 2009, Pranav Jerry Chopra and Prajakta Sawant teamed up to win a Bronze medal in the mixed doubles category.

The shuttlers will undergo a rigorous preparatory coaching camp from June 25-July 11 under the guidance of Sanjay Mishra, Junior National Coach in Bangalore. The squad will leave for Jakarta late on July 11.

BADMINTON ASIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 SQUAD

BOYS TEAM

1. LAKSHYA SEN UTR

2. PRIYANSHU RAJAWAT MP

3. KIRAN GEORGE KER

4. AMAN FAROGH SANJAY AI

5. K.MANJIT SINGH MNP

6. K.DINGKU SING MNP

7. SAI KRISHNA SAI KUMAR PODILE TS

8. P.VISHNUVARDHAN GOUD TS

9. EDWIN JOY KER

10. ORIJIT CHALIHA ASM

11. B.SAI ROHIT TS

12. AKASH CHANDRAN TS

GIRLS TEAM

1. VAISHNAVI JAKKA REDDY TS

2. AAKARSHI KASHYAP CG

3. S.KAVIPRIYA PY

4. DIPTI KUITY GUJ

5. SIMRAN SINGHI MAH

6. RITIKA THAKER MAH

7. K.PREETHI AP

8. SHRISHTI JUPPUDI TS

9. NAFEESAH SARA SIRAJ KER

10. MEDHA SHASHIDHARAN KTK