Patiala’s Shikhar and Ludhiana’s Gursimrat Shine as Punjab Badminton Champions

Jalandhar (The Uttam Hindu): The Junior and Senior Punjab State Badminton Championship concluded enthusiastically on Thursday at Raizada Hansraj Stadium, Jalandhar. In the men’s singles category, Patiala’s Shikhar Rallan clinched the title by defeating Adhyan Kakkar from Amritsar in the final match. In the women’s singles category, Gursimrat Kaur Chahal from Ludhiana emerged as champion after a tough battle against Jalandhar’s Inayat Gulati.

Ludhiana’s Saanvi Nautiyal delivered an outstanding performance by achieving a triple crown, winning titles in girls’ doubles, mixed doubles, and women’s doubles. Gursimran, Manya, and Mridul Jha also secured double crowns in their respective categories. Jagsher Khangoora claimed the boys’ singles title by defeating Viren Seth (Jalandhar). The youngest participant of the tournament, Inayat Gulati (Jalandhar), surprised everyone by winning silver medals in both girls’ and women’s singles categories.

Punjab Badminton Association Honorary Secretary Ritin Khanna stated that a total of 350 matches were played across 10 events in the Under-19 and Senior categories during the four-day competition. Vivek Modi (IAS), SDM Adampur, graced the event as the chief guest and presented awards to the winners. The champions will now represent Punjab at the National Championships to be held in Itanagar and Vijayawada. Winners also received cash prizes and attractive gifts from the association.

The District Badminton Association honored Junior Asian Championship bronze medalist Jagsher Khangoora with a cash prize of ₹21,000, and Thailand Open bronze medalist Abhinav Thakur was also felicitated for his exceptional performance. Senior officials of the Punjab Badminton Association — Rakesh Khanna, Anupam Kumaria, Naresh Budhia, Dheeraj Sharma, Parminder Sharma, and Vishal Rallan — were present on the occasion.