Young Shuttlers From Tamil Nadu Prepare As The Junior Badminton League Returns

Promising junior shuttlers from Tamil Nadu will be seen in action vying for top honours at the second season of the Junior Badminton League which is scheduled to begin from the 12th of July 2023 at Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

The 4-day tournament will see intense action between next-generation shuttlers from Tamil Nadu who will be playing in the U-17 girls singles and boys doubles along with U-19 girls and boys and in the Mixed Doubles category. All evening matches from 4:45 pm on 12th – 14th July and all matches on the final day (15th July 2023) will be broadcasted live on Eurosport India.

The league will see 88 shuttlers representing 8 different teams namely, Rainbow Rockers, Trichy Tamizh Veeras, Thiruvarur Delta Kings, Virudhai Vengais, Kovai Super Kings, Chennai City Gangsters, Thanjai Thalaivaas and Madurai Indians who will be divided into 2 groups and play a tie of 5 matches tie in the best of 3 format.

The captains of the teams include Sania Sikkandar who will be leading the Thiruvarur Delta Kings. Sikkandar was the runner-up in the All India Ranking Tournament 2022 held in Bangalore and Goa, and is currently the 4th ranked doubles player in the national rankings.

Chennai City Gangsters will be led by V S Jayani who has won the Senior State Ranking championships.

Virudhai Vengais will be led by junior international and highly accomplished Shreya Balaji, who currently holds the 5th rank in doubles and 12th rank in mixed doubles in the country. Balaji was also the winner of the doubles in the National Ranking tournament held at Panchkula and also claimed the titles in both singles and team events in the South Zone Championships.

Nidhin K.M. will wear the captain’s armband for the team from the temple city of Tanjavur, Thanjai Thalaivas. NIdhin is the No. 1 ranked Junior player in the singles category in Tamil Nadu, recently winning the title in the State Ranking tournament held at Trichy and was also the runner-up in Tirupur.

Trichy Tamil Veeras will be led by Bharat Sanjal S who was the runner-up in mixed doubles in the recently concluded National Junior Championships. He has multiple national and state titles under his belt and is also currently the No. 1 player in Mixed doubles in the state.

Ashwath Harrish will be at the helm for Kovai Super Kings for the JBL who was the winner of the Trichy Ranking tournament. He also won the doubles title and reached the semifinals in the mixed doubles at the Tirupur Ranking tournament, and finished as the runner-up at the Erode Ranking championship.

Captaining the Rainbow Rockers team is M Swastik, who currently is ranked No. 1 in the country in under-17 Mixed Doubles, No.1 in the state in under-17 boys Singles, No. 4 in under-19 Boys Doubles and No.7 in Boys Doubles categories.

Finally, Madurai Indians will be captained by Chenhoor Varshan who was last year’s runner-up from the u-19 Boys Doubles category in the state championship.