Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2022: Unnati Hooda to spearhead India’s challenge

Indian contingent pose before they leave for Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2022 (Image: BAI Media)

New Delhi, November 28: Rising shuttler Unnati Hooda is set to spearhead India's challenge as a 36-member contingent left for Nonthaburi, Thailand to compete in the Badminton Asia Junior Championships 2022, scheduled to start on November 29.

The prestigious continental event will see Under 15 and Under 17 shuttlers from Asia do battle with the final set to be held on Sunday (December 4).

The Odisha Open champion Unnati will lead the charge in the U-17 women's singles alongside Jiya Rawat and Anmol Kharb whereas Tanvi Sharma, who topped the trials, will compete in the women's U-15 singles along with Ishita Negi, Suhasi Verma and Sampriti Pal.

India's Tasnim Mir and Tara Shah had clinched gold and silver medal respectively in the U-15 women's singles in the last edition of the championships, held in 2019. The prestigious continental event will be conducted after a two-year break, forced due to the pandemic.

The players have been selected through the selection trials which took place in Hyderabad last month.

Mohammad Ali Mir, Gnana Dattu, Abhinav Garg and Anish Thoppani will be the players to watch out for in the U-15 men's singles.

Dhruv Negi, on the other hand, will shoulder the responsibility in the U-17 men's singles along with Ansh Negi, Prajwal Sonawane and Neer Nehwal.

As a part of their preparations ahead of the tournament, the selected players also participated in a 12-day national camp in Raipur from November 14-25.

In the doubles section, pair of Arsh Mohammad and Sanskar Saraswat, and Divyam Arora and Mayank Rana will be India's best bet in the men's U-17 category while Arjun Birajdar and Aryan Birajdar will compete in the men's U-15 along with the pair of Bjorn Jaison and Aatish Sreenivas PV.

Vennala K and Shriyanshi Valishetty will play in the U-17 women's doubles category along with the pair of Navya Kanderi and Rakshita Sree S. Aanya Bisht and Siddhi Rawat, and Tanvi Andluri and Durga Kandrapu are part of the women's U-15 doubles team.

Indian squads are as follows:

Category	Men's Singles	Women's Singles	Men's Doubles	Women's Doubles	Mixed Doubles
Under-15	Mohammad Ali Mir, Gnana Dattu, Abhinav Garg, Anish Thoppani	Tanvi Sharma, Ishita Negi, Suhasi Verma, Sampriti Pal	Arjun Birajdar/Aryan Birajdar, Bjorn Jaison/Aatish Sreenivas P.V.	Aanya Bisht/Siddhi Rawat, Tanvi Andluri/Durga Kandrapu	Bornil Changmai /Shantipriya Hazarika, Ishaan Negi/Siddhi Rawat
Under-17	Dhruv Negi, Ansh Negi, Prajwal Sonawane, Neer Nehwal	Unnati Hooda, Jiya Rawat, Anmol Kharb	Arsh Mohammad/Sanskar Saraswat, Divyam Arora/Mayank Rana	Vennala K./Shriyanshi Valishetty, Navya Kanderi/Rakshita Sree S.	Arulmurugan R./Srinidhi N., Mayank Rana/Jiya Rawat