Uttarakhand to host all India Junior Badminton Ranking Tournament

Uttarakhand is going to host all India Junior Badminton Ranking Tournament from Tuesday. The tournament will be held at two venues -Parade Ground and Badminton Hall, Maharana Pratap Sports College, Raipur between August 4 and 10. This year, around 750 players from various parts of the country will be participating in this tournament.

Uttaranchal State Badminton Association vice- president and IG Sanjay Gunjyal said that in comparison to last year, there has been a record breaking number of entries this year as the association has received around 1400 entries with approximately 751 players participating in this tournament.State players are getting exposure from such events being organised periodically as they get chance to play with national level players. Statistics reveal that state players are performing well at national level badminton competition, he added. Along with national level umpires, the USBA trained umpires will also play a significant role in this tournament.  All the preparations for this event have been completed. The players from across India have arrived in Dehradun for the tournament which will be inaugurated by the State Sports minister Dinesh Aggarwal at  9 am on Tuesday. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat will be chief guest on the concluding day of the event on August 10.

Gunjyal said that in the under-17 boys category, eight out of top ten ranked players at national level are participating in this event. In under -17 girls, five out of top ten ranked players are participating. Himanshi Rawat of Uttarakhand has secured a wild card entry in the under 17 girls main draw. Among those present on the occasion were USBA members Sanjay Gupta, lokesh, BS Mankoti, Rajesh, Punita, Manisha Negi, Sanjay Gupta and others.