Nagpur: The Nagpur District Badminton Association celebrated a historic achievement as Nagpur women’s team struck gold while men’s team clinched bronze at Yonex-Sunrise Nandu Natekar Memorial Inter District Senior State Badminton Championship that concluded at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on Sunday.
Nagpur women team including Nehal Gosavi, Krisha Soni, Pinak Rokde, Nishika Gokhe and Nikkita Joseph displayed outstanding form. In the first round, Nagpur defeated Chandrapur 2-0 (Nishika Gokhe & Nehal Gosavi leading with straight game wins). In quarter-finals, Nagpur beat Jalgaon 2-0 (Krisha Soni & doubles pair Nehal-Nikkita Joseph dominated).
Gold Rate
18 Aug 2025
In the semi-finals, Nagpur overcame Ch Sambhaji Nagar 2-1 in a thriller (Krisha Soni fought back in three sets; Nishika Gokhe sealed the win). In the all important final, Nagpur blanked Raigad 2-0 with Krisha & the doubles pair of Nehal and Nikkita ensuring victory and the gold. Nagpur men’s team consisting of Sankalp Gurala, Ajinkya Patarkar, Shashank Kulal, Pranay Gadewar, Nabeel Ahmed, Hriday Deshmukh and Gaurav Rege fought well in the tournament before bowing out in the semi-finals to eventual champions.
Nagpur outplayed Kolhapur 3-0 in first round (Sankalp Gurala, Pranay Gadewar, and doubles pair Ajinkya Patarkar Sankalp Gurala registered wins).
In the quarters, Nagpur defeated BAMU 3-1 (wins by Sankalp Gurala, Ajinkya Patarkar-Sankalp Gurala, and Nabeel Ahmed). In the semis, Nagpur lost to Thane 0-3 despite a valiant effort from all players, securing the bronze medal. Both teams were coached by Nikhil Rokde.
The remarkable achievements of both teams were applauded by leaders of the badminton fraternity, Arun Lakhani, President, MBA; Kundatai Vijaykar, President, NDBA; Mangesh Kashikar, Sr Vice-President, MBA & Secretary, NDBA; Anand Sancheti, Sr Vice-President, NDBA; Amit Bajaj and Shriram Purohit, VPs, NDBA; Bhavana Agrey ( Jt Secretary), Anant Apte (Secretary, Tournaments & Events), Madhavi Kashikar Hedaoo (Secretary, Coaching), Bhavesh Deshmukh, Gurdeep Singh Arora, Neha Gosavi, Nikhil Rokde, Sneha Faizpurkar, Ashwin Harkare, and all executive members of Nagpur District Badminton Association.
