NAGPUR’S promising badminton talent Rutva Sajwan delivered an outstanding performance at the prestigious Yonex-Sunrise GH Raisoni Memorial All India Junior Badminton Tournament 2026 at the Manohar Parrikar Indoor Sports Complex, Navelim, Goa. The competition was organised by Goa Badminton Association under the auspices of Badminton Association of India (BAI), Sajwan concluded his remarkable campaign by securing the runner-up position in the boys’ singles Under-19 category, bringing pride and recognition to Nagpur with an impressive run throughout the championship. In the final, Rutva went down to Karnataka’s 9th-seeded player Harshad Shadish 8-15, 10-15. Sajwan showcased exceptional determination, consistency and fighting spirit, winning five consecutive matches to book his place in the final. His impressive journey included victories over several strong opponents, including the second and third seeds of the tournament. In the first round he defeated Srichethan Shourya Samala (Telangana) 15-5, 7-15, 15-10. In the next round, Sajwan got the better of Aanayan Borah (Assam) 15-11, 15-10 and then ousted Yeshas M Reddy (Karnataka) 15-9, 4-15, 15-12 to enter quarters. Sajwan then stunned 2nd seed Hardik Divyansh (Karnataka) 15-7, 10-15, 15-10 to book a place in semis where he shocked 3rd seed Shaurya Mishra (Madhya Pradesh) 15-8, 5-15, 15-7. The prize distribution ceremony was graced by Amit Gandhare, Director, Public Relations, Raisoni Education and Sandeep Heble, Secretary, Goa Olympic Association, Parijaat Natu, Referee. Sajwan was congratulated by Arun Lakhani, President, Maharashtra Badminton Association; Kundatai Vijaykar, President; Mangesh Kashikar, Sr Vice President, MBA and Secretary, NDBA; Anand Sancheti, Amit Bajaj and Shriram Purohit, Vice-Presidents, Bhavana Agrey, Joint Secretary, Anant Apte, Secretary, Tournaments and Events; Madhavi Kashikar Hedaoo, Secretary, Coaching; Gurdeep Singh Arora, Neha Gosavi, Nikhil Rokde and Ashwin Harkare, Bhavesh Deshmukh and Sneha Faizpurkar.