Teenage sensation Unnati Hooda tops national junior selection trials

Unnati Hooda won the National Junior Selection Trials, which ended on Monday. She was the youngest player to win a BWF Super 100 event in the Odisha Open this year. To determine the top three spots, the shuttler from Haryana overcame Rakshitha Sree and Anupama Upadhyaya in the playoffs.

14-year-old Hooda defeated Anupama 10-21, 21-17, 21-14 then defeated Sree 18-21, 21-18, 23-21 in a separate match. Hooda won all three of her league contests to take first place in Group C.

In order to make it into the senior Indian squad for the Uber Cup, Hooda defeated Sreshta Reddy K 21-19, 21-17 before defeating Devika Sihag 21-9, 21-15. She also defeated Sriyanshi Valishetty in an exhilarating 18-21, 21-19, 21-15 victory.

The TOPS development group, national camp, and international events, including the BWF World Junior Championships, till December of this year, were selected through the four-day tryouts held by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) from August 12 to August 15. From October 17 to October 30, Santander, Spain will host the World Junior Championships.