Tribune News Network
Doha
The Absolute Sports Academy (ASA) in Doha secured a bagful of titles at Bahrain Junior and Senior Badminton Tournament 2023 conducted by Bahrain Badminton Association at Khalifa Sports City in Isa Town, Bahrain, last week.
The academy, which has a tie-up with Indian badminton legend Pullela Gopichand, excelled in different age categories with four of its trainees bagging eight titles.
Samiha Santhosh Shetty turned out to be the superstar of the tournament, winning all the titles she contested in. She won the U15 and U17 Girls Singles titles and capped it with winning the Women Doubles title by partnering with Lizbet Binu of Bahrain.
Pridav Shyam Gopan won the Boys U19 title, but finished as runner up in U15 and U17 Boys categories.
Another promising player Jaiden Mathew won the U11 Boys Singles title and won the doubles titles in the same age group, partnering with Aston Edison.
Officials from Pulela Gopichand Academy expressed their delight at the steady progress the wards are making, with bagging some regional titles on the way.
“It was a fantastic effort from our players to win the top prizes in Bahrain,” said Akshay Gajbhiye, Head Coach of Qatar Operations from Pulela Gopichand Academy, Hyderabad.
With their consistent performance in Qatar and now with their win in Bahrain, the Absolute Sports Academy boys and girls have got valuable ranking points.
“Now our kids are top seeded in two Gulf countries, and it’s a result of hard work and dedication from kids and parents,” he added.
Earlier in the Qatar Badminton Association National Championship U15 team event held a few weeks ago, the Absolute Sports Academy excelled with Samiha winning the Girls Singles title and also the team event along with Aeryn Elizabeth Pradeep, while Pridhav won the Boys Singles title and went on to win the team title in partnership with Dillan Togi. Dillan incidentally lost the U15 boys singles final to Pridhav.
