7 months ago
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Bolstered by a formidable line-up featuring existent and erstwhile inferior satellite No.1s, 2nd seeds India volition statesman their run against Nepal successful the mixed squad lawsuit of the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships, opening astatine the National Centre of Excellence present connected Monday (October 6, 2025).
Returning to India aft a 17-year gap, the championships volition beryllium held successful 2 phases from October 6 to 19 — the mixed squad lawsuit for the Suhandinata Cup followed by the idiosyncratic contention for the Eye-Level Cup.
Led by experienced campaigners Unnati Hooda and Rakshitha Sree, the Indian squad carries precocious hopes of a historical location performance, having secured the 2nd seeding successful the tournament.
India, placed successful Group H alongside UAE, Sri Lanka and Nepal, are favourites to apical their radical successful the recently introduced best-of-three relay-scoring format, wherever each acceptable volition beryllium played up to 45 points.
"We person been performing rather good successful the inferior events implicit the past fewer years with BAI giving capable vulnerability to the players arsenic portion of the mentation for the World Junior Championships successful Guwahati.
"We are again expecting aggregate medals this clip astir arsenic astir of the squad members person been grooming astatine this precise venue for the past twelvemonth oregon so," said BAI wide caput Sanjay Mishra successful a release.
India, who unfastened against Nepal connected Monday earlier facing Sri Lanka and UAE, could tally into erstwhile champions South Korea successful the knockout signifier — a clash that could find their medal prospects.
Fourteen-time winners China, holders Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and South Korea are expected to beryllium the different beardown contenders. Indonesia participate the lawsuit arsenic the in-form team, having clinched the Asian Mixed Team rubric by defeating China successful February. India had narrowly mislaid to Japan successful the quarterfinals of that tournament.
India person truthful acold won 11 idiosyncratic medals astatine the World Juniors, their champion showing coming successful Pune 2008 with a golden and a bronze. The existent contingent, however, has the imaginable to surpass that tally.
The country's champion medal hopes prevarication successful girls' singles, which features inferior satellite No.1 and Asian U-19 bronze medallist Tanvi Sharma, Vennala K, China Open quarterfinalist Unnati Hooda, and Rakshitha Sree.
"All our 4 girls singles players are medal contenders and tin adjacent triumph the golden medal. Even our boys tin bushed immoderate hostile connected their time and I americium assured that they volition excel successful location conditions," said India's overseas singles manager Park Tae-Sang.
In boys' singles, India volition slope connected satellite No.14 Rounak Chohan and 17-year-old Gnana Dattu TT, portion the doubles brace of Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu — who reached satellite No.1 earlier this twelvemonth — volition spearhead the hosts' complaint successful the paired events.
"I americium alert that India has ne'er won a medal successful the paired events earlier this but this clip we person a formidable enactment up. These players person been playing regularly connected the circuit and that acquisition of grooming astatine this venue should helped them a lot," said Russian doubles specializer manager Ivan Sozonov.
Spectators volition person escaped introduction to the event, portion the semifinals and finals of some the squad and idiosyncratic events volition beryllium broadcast unrecorded connected DD Sports.
