Young Indian badminton players to watch out for

Indian badminton is in safe hands with experienced players Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, and Parupalli Kashyap leading the team forward in international tournaments. But are there quality young shuttlers to replace them? So, who could be the next Nehwals and Sindhus?

Here’s a look at young badminton players who could take the sports forward in India.

Maisnam Meiraba

He is the no 1 ranked player in boy’s singles in the under-19 category under Badminton Association of India. He is the first shuttler from North-East India (Manipur) to bag the second spot in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Junior rankings. Maisnam, 17, is also the No 1 ranked Asian player in the under-19 category. He has won three international events while finishing in top 3 in 3 other events under BWF. The three international titles he has won include Russia Open International Championships, Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior International Challenge and Yonex Sunrise Bangladesh Junior International Series.

Rohan Gurbani

The 17-year-old shuttler is ranked 2nd in the Under-19 category. He is a former Sub-Junior (U-15 and U-17) National Champion. He is a product of Prakash Product Badminton Academy in Bengaluru. He is a Class XI student. He first represented India in the U-17 and U-15 Asian Badminton Championship at Myanmar. He was one of the four singles players to have been selected for the BEF World Junior Under-19 Badminton Championship last year. He was the losing finalist in the Under-19 boy singles in the 44th Junior Badminton Championship, which was held in Andhra Pradesh in January this year.

Tasnim Mir

She is the no 1 ranked female singles player in the under-19 category. She is ranked 15th in the mixed double category in Under-19. At just 15, she has garnered quite a fame with her achievements. In 2018, she won both the under-15 and under-17 singles titles at the All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament when she was just 13 years old. In the same year, she won gold in the women's double at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships. 

Featured image of Rohan Gurbani

Photo courtesy: Sportskeeda