World junior badminton championships| Indians off to a successful begin

Gnana Dattu rallied to down his Hungarian opponent Mesterhazy. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Tankara Gnana Dattu Talasila’s error-strewn opener in a 5-15, 15-7, 15-7 win was the one blip on an in any other case excellent day for India on the World junior badminton championships in Guwahati.

Up towards Milan Mesterhazy, a left-handed Hungarian, a nervous Gnana Dattu saved going for rally-ending jump-smashes, solely to seek out the online on a number of events.

Once he calmed down, his rival was hardly a match for him. A fragile crosscourt winner from the Indian on the web at 11-5 within the second recreation had Mesterhazy and the sparse crowd on the National Centre of Excellence applauding him.

Gnana Dattu, who led 8-3 on the mid-game interval within the decider, duly transformed his third match level with a smash down the road.

The BWF is testing a best-of-three video games format with every recreation performed to fifteen factors at this occasion as a part of its broader testing and evaluation programme.

The first spherical, maybe because of loads of lop-sided match-ups, witnessed a number of clashes which didn’t final even quarter-hour. H. Lalthazuala and Vennala Kalagotla, the opposite Indians in motion in singles on Monday, featured in two of these fixtures with 15-4, 15-4 victory over Ugandan Denis Mukasa and 15-1, 15-6 win over Ireland’s Siofra Flynn, respectively.

Three Indian pairs in combined doubles registered straight-game wins, making certain the total quota of host nation’s entries, together with those who obtained byes, might be in motion within the second spherical on a packed Tuesday.

The outcomes (first spherical, Indians solely): Boy’s singles: H. Lalthazuala bt Denis Mukasa (Uga) 15-4, 15-4; Tankara Gnana Dattu Talasila bt Milan Mesterhazy (Hun) 5-15, 15-7, 15-7.

Girl’s singles: Vennala Kalagotla bt Siofra Flynn (Irl) 15-1, 15-6.

Mixed doubles: C. Lalramsanga & Taarini Suri bt Senan O’Rourke & Michelle Shochan (Irl) 15-13, 15-9; Vishnu Kedhar Kode & Keerthy Manchala bt Obapomba Adu-Mintah & Moslena Ama Korama Adu (Gha) 15-7, 15-8; Vansh Dev & Dianka Waldia bt Anish Nair & Mia Fox (Eng) 15-6, 15-11.

Published – October 13, 2025 09:29 pm IST