Shane D’Souza falls short against Maharashtra’s Anishwarya
Mapusa: Goa’s Owais Tahasildar and Devansh Sakpal delivered standout performances on Day Two of the Yonex-Sunrise All India Sub Junior (U-15 & U-17) Ranking Badminton Tournament 2025, at the Multipurpose Stadium in Peddem.
Owais looked in control from start to finish as he brushed aside Tamil Nadu’s Sabareeshwaran Loganathan Gayathri with a dominant 15-4, 15-9 win in the Boys U17 category. Devansh, meanwhile, survived an early scare against Gujarat’s Rudra Pratap Singh, saving game points before pulling away in the second to seal a 19-17, 15-5 victory and book his place in the next round.
However, the day wasn’t all smooth sailing for Team Goa. Shane D’Souza, one of the state’s most promising names, went down fighting in a closely-contested affair against Maharashtra’s Anishwarya Deshmukh, losing 13-15, 9-15.
The rest of the Goan contingent faced a tough outing. Harsh Mulik fell to Haryana’s Gagan Singh 9-15, 11-15; Ramchandra Patil couldn’t match the pace of Sikkim’s Aanash Dhamala, going down 5-15, 5-15; while Shaurya Naik was outclassed by Maharashtra’s top-seed Sachet Tripathy 7-15, 4-15. Straight-game exits also saw Gaurav Paradkar, Aloisius Rodrigues, Shane D’Souza, and Raj Dhume bow out against higher-ranked opponents.
In the Girls U15 draw, Maharashtra’s Vidhi Saini ended Avni Khyalia’s campaign with a 15-5, 15-8 result. Sufiya Shaikh, however, impressed with her grit before falling short against the eighth seed, Nitya Jadon of Madhya Pradesh, in a hard-fought 12-15, 10-15 battle in the Girls U17 bracket.
Across the national field, the big guns fired as expected. Top seed Avadhut Kadam (Maharashtra) cruised past Karnataka’s Heshaan Harish in straight games, while Haryana’s Parth Gawri, seeded second, made quick work of Shayaan Faaz (KTK) 15-7, 15-7. Gujarat’s third seed Parth Puri survived a rollercoaster encounter against Jasraj Singh Saluja (MP), eventually prevailing 15-13, 16-18, 15-11. Fourth seed Sivacharan Ganesan (Tamil Nadu) was in commanding form during his 15-9, 15-2 win over Andhra’s Shashish Potanaboina.
In the Girls U17 division, Assam’s top seed Shantipriya Hazarika sent a strong message with a ruthless 15-3, 15-5 rout of Maharashtra’s Mausam Mane Patil. Telangana’s Rithwika Sree Bhukya moved through after second seed Harini Raja (TN) withdrew due to a walkover.
