I play singles as well as doubles and playing in both the categories helps me mentally as well physically too,” said Rana, who had earlier reached the final and semi-finals of a couple of All India Junior Ranking Tournaments with different partners. Later, he decided to send me to train at Gopichand Academy in 2020. “I was fascinated by badminton and when I took up the sport seriously, my father would take me to the badminton academies in Sonepat.

Rana, whose father Vikas Kumar works as a teacher, started playing badminton for fitness. The doubles pair eked out a 21-15, 21-16 win over the pair of Rohan Anandas of Telangana and Rahul Dravid Batti of Andhra Pradesh to claim the boys’ doubles title and the Anant Goenka Trophy. (Express Photo by Jasbir Malhi)įor 17-year-olds Mayank Rana of Sonepat, Haryana, and Sanskar Saraswat of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, it was also the first time of playing together in the tournament.

Anmol Kharb (left) and Vennala K won the girls’ doubles title and the Rachel Goenka Trophy.

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