Viren Seth, Japleen Kaur and Gursimrat Kaur Chahal emerged among the top performers as the Punjab State Junior (U-19) and Senior Badminton Championship 2026 concluded at Shastri Badminton Hall, on Monday.
In women’s singles, Japleen Kaur from Ferozepur won the title, while Inayat Gulati from Jalandhar finished runner-up. Kartik Karwasara and Madhav Kanojia from Fazilka and Jalandhar respectively, won the men’s doubles title, defeating Nitish Chopra and Rawel Singh from Ludhiana. Mridul Jha and Manya Ralhan from Jalandhar won the mixed doubles title, while Syam Prasad Udaykumar and Liza Taank from Ludhiana and Malerkotla respectively, were runners-up. Amelia Bhakoo and Ananya Nijhawan from Ludhiana won the girls’ doubles title, while Prachi Saini and Sukhmandeep Kaur from Gurdaspur and Patiala respectively, finished runners-up.
In the senior men’s singles final, Viren Seth from Jalandhar defeated Eshaan Sharma from Gurdaspur to claim the title. Anish Bhardwaj and Divyam Sachdeva, both from Jalandhar, finished as semi-finalists. Kritagya Arora-Mrinal Khurana and Anish Bhardwaj-Mridul Jha were the semi-finalists. In women’s doubles, Manya Ralhan and Saanvi Nautiyal from Jalandhar and Ludhiana respectively, finished first, followed by Liza Taank and Seeza from Malerkotla and Sangrur respectively. Ishaan Sharma from Ludhiana and Kaivalya Sood from Amritsar were semi-finalists. Organised by the Badminton Association of Ludhiana, the championship received support from the corporate sector through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Ritin Khanna, general secretary of the Punjab Badminton Association, felicitated the winners.
In the boys’ U-19 singles, Danish Bhanot from Jalandhar claimed the title, with Viraj Sharma from Jalandhar finishing second. Gursimrat Kaur Chahal from Ludhiana won the girls’ U-19 singles title, defeating Inayat Gulati from Jalandhar, while Japleen Kaur from Ferozepur and Seeza from Sangrur were semi-finalists. Kaivalya Sood and Shiven Dhingra from Amritsar and Fazilka respectively, won the boys’ U-19 doubles title, beating Akhil Arora and Kritagya Arora from Amritsar. In mixed doubles U-19, Kritagya Arora and Samaira Arora from Amritsar secured the title, while Zorawar Singh and Amelia Bhakoo from Jalandhar and Ludhiana respectively, were runners-up.
