Jaipur: For the first time in the Rajasthan badminton history as many as three shuttlers have been selected in the Indian sub-junior badminton team, marking a new era for the shuttle sport in the region.The talented teenage trio of Anvi Rathore, Anshuman Choudhary and Manan Sharma sealed a place in the national team which will compete at the Badminton Asia U-17 & U-15 Sub-Junior Championships 2026 scheduled to be held in Chengdu, China, from September 8 to 13.All the three city shuttlers made the cut on the basis of their outstanding performance in the All India Sub-Junior Badminton tournament which concluded in Bengaluru on Tuesday.While Anvi represented the country in the last edition in the same tournament, Anshuman and Manan were picked for the first time.The Badminton Association of India had announced that the Bengaluru tourney will be treated as the selection meet for the forthcoming Asian Sub-Junior Championship. All the singles semi-finalists and doubles finalists were automatically booked their berths in the Indian squad.The fourteen-year-old Anvi clinched the U-17 girls singles crown and bagged silver in the U-15 girls singles.Southpaw Anshuman, 16, emerged as the U-17 boys singles champion, while Manan finished runners-up in the U-15 mixed doubles category with his partner Inayat Gulati of Punjab.Eighth seed Anvi rallied back splendidly to stun second seed Gatha Suryawanshi of Maharashtra 17-21, 21-18, 21-13 to pocket her maiden U-17 All India title. A couple of hours earlier, Anvi missed her U-15 girls singles title by going down fighting against top seed Hamsini Chadaram. Second seed Anvi lost by a wafer-thin margin of 20-22, 21-17, 20-22 in an hour-long battle.“I was well prepared for this tournament and aimed to reach the finals in both the U-15 and U-17 categories. I am extremely happy to have won the gold medal in the higher age group and silver in my age section. This victory is a proud moment for me and has boosted my confidence,” Anvi told TOI on Wednesday.Oozing with confidence after her spectacular performance in Bengaluru, Anvi now targets gold in China.“My next goal is to win a gold medal for India at the Asian Sub Junior Badminton Championship. I was very close to bagging the medal for India in the previous year but this time I would like to make amends and bring glory to the nation,” added Anvi.Unseeded Anshuman edged past Mohit Dharsan Mahesh Kumar 21-11, 23-21 in the nail-biting U-17 boys singles summit clash. It was a maiden All India title for Anshuman, who has been training at the Centre For Excellence in Bengaluru for the last few months.“It is certainly a proud moment for Rajasthan that three promising shuttlers from Jaipur have been selected in the Indian team. Last year, two players from the state represented the country but this is the first occasion that three shuttlers will don the national colours in one international tournament,” stated Jaipur District Badminton Association treasurer Atul Gupta.The Jaipur District Badminton Association president Anil Mehta and JDBA secretary Manoj Dasot, expressed their joy at the selection of the three players to the Indian team and congratulated them. They expressed confidence that these young shuttlers from Jaipur will bring glory to the country and the state by performing brilliantly on the international stage.
