Priyanshu Rajawat through to second round in All India Junior Ranking tournament
Priyanshu Rajawat has managed beat M.Tharun 21-17, 21-16 in the ongoing 27th Smt. Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Badminton tournament. Earlier in the year, in May, the youngster had won the Yonex Sunrise all-India Junior (under-19) ranking badminton Tournament.
Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Badminton tournament is an opportunity for India’s best junior shuttlers to seal their places in the Indian team for the World Junior Badminton Championships at Markham, Canada, to be held in November this year. The stakes are high in a tournament where important ranking points, which can add to selection chances, are on offer for the best performers.
“My father owns three photocopy shops. So every time I win, he makes sure that all the workers, his friends and even the customers know about my achievements. Sometimes, he even takes print of my results, makes copies, and displays them on the shops walls. When I was growing up, I would visit the shops often but my father never told me to involve myself with the business. I was more keen to accompany my elder brother for badminton training under coach Sudhir Verma,” shares Rajawat to India Express.
Priyanshu hails from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh - a place which in recent times has seen some young raw talents like Sameer Verma, his brother Saurabh Verma and Abhimanyu Singh come and perform at the bigger stage.
“After Saurabh Verma’s national title in 2011 and Sameer Verma’s medal in world junior championships, a lot of kids in Dhar started playing badminton. We would practise on the three courts at the government stadium in Dhar. When I was inducted into Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, my brother too shifted with me. Last year’s bronze medal in Indonesia meant a lot for my family and they watched the matches on internet,” added Rajawat.