Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: The five-day exciting National Sub-Junior (Under-13) Badminton Competition ended successfully on Wednesday. There was no representative from Bengal in the final of the National Sub-Junior Competition organized at the Harinavy Star Badminton Academy. However, the fierce competition between competitors from other states in the four finals, including singles and doubles, caught the eye. Each match was tough and enjoyable. It is a pity that when badminton talent from other states has emerged, Bengal's medal pool is empty.
A total of 464 competitors from 28 states and 5 union territories of the country participated in this ranking tournament. There were 261 boys and 203 girls. 90 were representing Bengal. However, not a single player from Bengal made it to the finals.
The total prize money of the tournament is 6 lakh taka. The winning contestants of the boys and girls singles categories got 72 thousand taka each. The runners-up got 36 thousand taka. The semi-finalists got 28 thousand taka. The quarter-finalists got 24 thousand taka. The winning pair of the doubles in both categories got 76 thousand taka. The runners-up got 36 thousand taka. The semi-finalists got 28 thousand taka.
In the girls singles final, two contestants from Telangana, Lyosha Korukonda and Shanvi Reddy Nimma, faced each other. Lyosha fought hard and defeated Nimma 15-10, 15-12. In the boys singles final, Uttarakhand's Sarthak Joshi defeated Andhra Pradesh's Rehan Dudekula 15-12, 15-10.
The two contestants who faced each other in the boys and girls finals played as doubles pairs. In the girls' doubles final, the pair of Lyosha and Nimma defeated Maharashtra's Hazel Joshi and Divisha Singh 16-14, 15-6. In the boys' doubles final, the pair of Rehan and Sarthak emerged champions by defeating Rajasthan's Lokesh Gulzar and Rakshit Singh 16-14, 15-12.
Indian badminton legend Chetan Anand, State Badminton Association Secretary Shekhar Biswas, State Badminton Association President Ushanath Banerjee, 'Bhumi' artist Surjit Chatterjee were present at the opening ceremony of the tournament. IFA Chairman Subrata Dutt, Bengal Olympic Association Secretary Zahar Das and other distinguished guests presented the prizes to the successful competitors in the final on Wednesday.