Senior Nationals: Unnati, Tanvi, Rounak and Sanskar Saraswat Make Impressive Start
Top seeds shine on opening day as players advance in 87th Senior National Badminton Championships.
New Delhi, Dec 25: Top seeds and rising stars made an impressive start at the 87th Senior National Badminton Championships on Wednesday, with Women’s top seed Unnati Hooda, world junior silver medallist Tanvi Sharma, experienced Aakarshi Kashyap, and junior talent Rounak Chauhan registering convincing victories.
Unnati, who had a bye in the first round, defeated wildcard entrant Akanksha Matte 21-8, 21-18. Tanvi Sharma opened her campaign with a 21-10, 21-14 win over Asian U-15 girls singles gold medallist Shaina Manimuthu. Aakarshi Kashyap also advanced after beating Asian U-17 championships silver medallist Lakshya Rajesh 21-7, 21-9, while Ashmita Chaliha overcame Kavya Marvaniya 21-7, 21-11.
The only seeded player to exit early was 16th seed Purva Barve, who fell 21-19, 17-21, 18-21 to M Meghana Reddy in the Round of 64.
In the men’s singles, 11th-seeded Rounak Chauhan defeated Ranveer Singh 21-9, 21-13, while 12th-seeded D. S. Saneeth booked his spot in the next round with a 21-7, 21-11 win over Ankit Mondal. 16th seed and Guwahati Masters Super 100 champion Sanskar Saraswat also began in style, defeating Shikhar Rallan 21-11, 21-13.
Earlier this month, Unnati Hooda and Kiran George had claimed the women’s and men’s singles titles, respectively, at the Odisha Masters 2025, a BWF World Tour Super 100 tournament held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Cuttack.
In the women’s singles final, top seed Hooda delivered a composed 21-17, 21-10 victory over Isharani Baruah in just over 30 minutes, while second-seeded Kiran George edged past Indonesia’s Muhamad Yusuf in a thrilling three-game men’s final, prevailing 21-14 in the first game before a comeback from Yusuf leveled the match.
The opening day of the Senior Nationals highlighted both the depth of Indian badminton talent and the exciting competition expected in the coming rounds.
