Smt Krishna Khaitan All-India Jr ranking, the stage to shine for junior shuttlers
December 9, 2021, Panchkula
As the Badminton Association of India restarts the junior badminton calendar in January next year, the 29th Smt Krishna Khaitan All India Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament will also make its return to the competitive fold after a gap of two years. The tournament, which is being held by the Express Shuttle Club Trust under the aegis of Haryana Badminton Association, will be the second tournament in the BAI junior calendar for next year and will be played in U-19 category from January 11 to January 18 at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex at Panchkula.
“Due to the pandemic, the tournament could not be conducted since the last two years. As Badminton Association of India released the senior as well junior calendar of events, we are glad that this tournament is second tournament of the year offering a chance for the best U-19 players in the country to showcase their talent. We have seen players like Aditi Bhatt, Malvika Bansod, Gayatri Gopichand Pullela, Priyanshu Rajawat winning the titles in this tournament in the recent years and we hope to see new talent winning the titles this time,” said Sanjiv Sachdeva, former Indian chief junior coach and now a member of BAI’s junior selection committee and adviser to BAI.
While the 2018 edition of the tournament had seen a total of 931 entries, the 2019 edition too saw more than 900 players competing in the tournament. Manipur’s Maisnam Meiraba had won the boys’ U-19 singles title while Delhi girl Aditi Bhatt had won the girls’ U-19 singles title in the 2019. This time too, the tournament will be played in boys’ singles U-19, girls’ U-19 singles, boys’ doubles U-19, girls’ doubles U-19 and mixed doubles U-19 categories and offering a total cash prize of Rs four lakh. While the tournament will be played on the ten courts of the Multipurpose Hall of the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, the matches will also be played on the four courts of the badminton hall. More than 18 technical officials have been nominated by BAI for the tournament. “Since we expect more than 900 entries, we plan to hold the matches on the ten courts of the Multipurpose Hall apart from the four other courts. All the officials and volunteers will be double vaccinated and so far, no crowd will be allowed. Parents will be required to sit in a separate area,” said Sachdeva.
“As per the BAI circular, the tournament is among the ranking and selection tournament for selecting the probables for national coaching camp apart from International junior tournament. It is expected that winners will be ranked for the Dutch and German Open to be held in March next year if the Indian team gets the permission to compete at that time,” added Sachdeva.
Players born on or after January 1, 2004 can compete in the tournament and the last date for sending the entries through respective state associations in December 22. “Players can send their entries through respective state associations to entry@badmintonindia.org and copy to smtkrishnakhaitan@gmail.com on or before December 22. We are thankful to Viveck Goenka, chairman, Express Shuttle Club trust, who started the tournament in 1991,” said Sachdeva.
