Top 10 players to watch in Senior National Badminton Championship 2024

The 86th Senior National Badminton Championship will start from December 20 in Bengaluru.

The year-ending domestic badminton competition is back as players prepare for the Senior National Badminton Championship 2024. The tournament will begin on December 20, with the finals scheduled for December 24. The event will take place at the Karnataka Badminton Stadium, Jasma Bhavan Road, Vasanthnagar, Bengaluru.

The Senior National Badminton Championship 2024 will see participation from both young talents and seasoned players. Defending champions Anmol Kharb (Women’s Singles), Chirag Sen (Men’s Singles), Dhruv/Tanisha (Mixed Doubles), Priya/Shruti (Women’s Doubles), and Suraj Gola/Pruthvi Roy (Men’s Doubles) will aim to retain their titles. Below are the names of the trophies awarded to the winners of each category.

• Men’s Singles: Vikas Topiwala Challenge Cup
• Women’s Singles: Olympian Badminton Challenge Cup
• Men’s Doubles: Calcutta Badminton Cup
• Women’s Doubles: All India Badminton Association Cup
• Mixed Doubles: Burdwan Challenge Cup

Last Year, fans witnessed Lakshya Sen, and Priyanshu Rajawat, among other top players participating in the tournament. This time also there are several top players and promising young prospects to watch out for. In this article, let’s look at the top 10 players to watch out for at the Senior National Badminton Championship 2024.

Players to watch out for at Senior National Badminton Championship 2024

10. Rounak Chouhan

The 17-year-old rising star, Rounak Chouhan, is one to watch in this tournament. He recently won the Kotak India Junior International Series, defeating compatriot Laksh Chengappa Machangada Aiyappa in a thrilling three-game final. En route, he also beat Chinese Taipei and an Indonesian player as well.

In the recently concluded Guwahati Masters, Rounak played his heart out against Malaysian Adil Sholeh, who is a top 100 ranked player. Chouhan lost the match but impressed everyone with his gameplay.

9. Shriyanshi Valishetty

Another talented 17-year-old, Shriyanshi Valishetty, has been performing well on the circuit. She reached the semifinals of the Odisha Masters, where she lost to compatriot Tanvi Sharma. Ranked WR #89, Shriyanshi achieved impressive wins over higher-ranked players Dai Wang (China) and Lo Sin Yan Happy (Hong Kong).

Earlier this year, she also defeated India’s No. #2 women’s singles player Malvika Bansod at the Syed Modi Internationals.

8. Bhargav Ram Arigela/Viswa Tej Gobburu

One of the most promising Junior pair, Bhargav Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu are also among the players to watch out for at the Senior National Badminton Championship 2024. The young India duo impressed in the Jr. World Championships held this year. Both are 17-year-old and are expected to do well in the future.

The pair are currently at the NCE (National Centre of Excellence) and are working under Ivan Sozonov. Bhargav also plays mixed doubles with Vennala Kalagotla.

7. Bhavya Chhabra/Param Choudhary

The young doubles duo of Bhavya Chhabra and Param Choudhary will be one of the upcoming pairs to watch out for. They have impressed in the Junior World Championships 2024. One of the main advantages of the pair is their age. Both of them are very young. Bhavya, 17 and Param, 16 are currently in the NCE (National Centre of Excellence) and are also working with Ivan Sozonov.

They finished as the runners-up of the Kotak India Junior International Series. One more advantage is that they both are from the same state so they both know each other pretty well.

6. Ayush Shetty

The 2023 Jr World Championships bronze medalist, Ayush Shetty, is another name to look out for. Ayush has been making waves in the circuit for quite a long time. Currently ranked WR #48, Ayush reached the semifinals of five tournaments and the finals of one this year.

He also finished third at the Hylo Open, losing to France’s Christo Popov. While his India leg performances were below expectations, Ayush will be determined to bounce back at the nationals. He will be one of the favourites to win the tournament.

5. Pranay Shettigar

The 2024 Jr World Championships quarterfinalist, Pranay Shettigar, is also the one to look out for. Pranay recently registered the biggest win of his career defeating WR #40 Wang of China in the second round of the Odisha Open. Pranay also finished third at the Norwegian International, going down against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Chi Ting in three games.

The 18-year-old is currently at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) and with the experience of Gopichand he will look to do well.

4. Unnati Hooda

Another women’s singles youngster, Unnati Hooda, will be the player to watch out for in the nationals. Hailing from Haryana, Unnati is currently WR 57 in the world. The 17 year old youngster has won two super 100 titles so far. Sge was the semifinalist of the Syed Modi International losing to compatriot PV Sindhu. She registered her first win over Pornpicha Choeikeewong (WR45) in the Syed Modi International after losing to her in the previous two meetings.

Also Read: Where and how to watch Senior National Badminton Championship 2024 live?

3. Tanvi Sharma

The 15-year-old young prodigy, Tanvi Sharma, is considered to be the next big thing in Indian badminton. She was the runner-up in last year’s nationals as well. Tanvi recently finished as the runner-up of the Odisha Masters and has entered the top 100 in BWF world rankings. She was also a quarterfinalist at the Junior World Championships 2024 and won silver medal in the 2023 U17 Asian Championships.

2. Anmol Kharb

Another young prodigy, Anmol Kharb, has high expectations from the fans. The 17-year-old impressed in the 2024 Badminton Asian Team Championships and was one of the main contributors to India’s historic win in the competition. Playing as the third singles player, Anmol defeated WR #29, #45 and #149 in the tournament.

She not only helped India win the tie against China, Japan and Thailand but also created history as well. She also finished as the runner-up of the Guwahati Masters, losing to former WR #14 Cai Yan Yan in the finals.

1. Sathish Karunakaran

The 23-year-old youngster will be one of the favourites to win the Senior Nationals this time. Sathish recently won the 2024 Guwahati Masters defeating Zhu Xuan Chen of China in two games. Sathish was born in Chennai, and this was his second Super 100 title.

He then finished as the semifinalist at Odisha Masters 2024 where he also played mixed doubles, pairing with Aadya Variyath. Currently ranked #42 in the world, Sathish will look to do well in the 2025 season.

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