Nagpur: Shuttlers of Nagpur set the court on fire bagging three championship titles in Yonex-Sunrise Shri Nandu Natekar Memorial Maharashtra Senior State Badminton Championship that concluded at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar on Wednesday. Nagpur badminton celebrated a historic triumph as its young stars delivered stellar performances.
From singles to doubles and mixed doubles, Nagpur shuttlers stamped their authority on the State’s most prestigious badminton stage. Nagpur’s rising star Sankalp Chandragurala etched his name in the record books with a dominant run to clinch the men’s singles crown. In the grand finale, Sankalp outclassed Sarvesh Yadav of Thane 21-16, 21-13 in straight games to lift the coveted title.
Gold Rate
18 Aug 2025
Displaying grit, consistency, and tactical brilliance, Sankalp ousted Pune’s top seed Varun Kapur in the semi-finals. After losing the first game 16-21, the Nagpur boy bounced back to pocket the next two 21-17, 25-23. On his way to the title, Sankalp defeated Vedant Wadhai (Chandrapur) 15-5, 15-3; Aniket Bandgar 15-7, 15-8; Om Gavandi (Thane) 14-16, 15-8, 15-3 and 7th seed Suveer Pradhan 21-17, 26-24 in the quarters.
Nagpur’s dynamic duo of Nehal Gosavi and Nikkita Joseph captured the women’s doubles title displaying outstanding co-ordination and fighting spirit. After strong straight-game wins in the opening rounds, they showed resilience in the semi-finals against Pune’s Ananya Gadgil and Sanika Patankar winning 21-13, 13-21, 21-15.
In a thrilling final, they held their nerves to defeat Pune’s second seeds Shruti Mundada and Tanishka Deshpande 21-19, 20-22, 21-17, securing their first senior state crown. Nagpur’s Ritika Thaker and Thane’s Deep Rambhiya clinched mixed doubles gold in style. The pair advanced comfortably through the early rounds before producing a sensational comeback in the semifinals against second seeds Aman Naushad and Sonali Milkhelkar.
In a dramatic final, Ritika and Deep stunned the top-seeded duo of Aman Farogh Sanjay and Anagha Karandikar of Thane in three thrilling games 29-30, 23-21, 21-13 to claim the prestigious title. After the match Ritika said they had conceded a big lead in the decider but a change in strategy worked out well for them as she made the openings and Deep did the finishing. She has thanked her parents, coaches Arun Vishnu, Ruthvik, partner Deep and NDBA for their support.
Arun Lakhani, President, MBA; Kundatai Vijaykar, President, NDBA; Mangesh Kashikar, Sr Vice-President, MBA & Secretary, NDBA; Anand Sancheti, Sr Vice-President; Amit Bajaj and Shriram Purohit, VPs; Bhavana Agrey ( Jt Secretary), Anant Apte, Madhavi Kashikar Hedaoo, Bhavesh Deshmukh, Gurdeep Singh Arora, Neha Gosavi, Nikhil Rokde, Sneha Faizpurkar, and Ashwin Harkare were among those who congratulated the players.
