Hyderabad: The Gaudium Junior Badminton Championship, hosted by The Gaudium School, Kollur Campus, in association with Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy and affiliated to Badminton Association of Telangana, concluded today at the Kollur Campus. Chief Guest Ms Upasana Kamineni, Vice Chairman, Apollo Life and the Editor-in-Chief of B Positive Magazine; presented the prizes to the winners at the valedictory ceremony of the Championship. The occasion was graced by Mr Nityananda Reddy, Chairman, The Gaudium Group and Co-founder of Aurobindo Pharma Limited; Ms Kirthi Reddy, Founder & Director, The Gaudium Group & Mr Ramakrishna Lingireddy, CEO, The Gaudium Group.
The Gaudium Junior Badminton Championship, attracted 700+ entries from elite badminton academies and international schools in Hyderabad and 6 other states. The tournament was for both Boys and Girls in the under 13 to 15 age group and had categories of Boys Singles, Girls Singles, Boys Doubles, Girls Doubles and Mixed Doubles.
Upasana Kamineni speaking on the occasion said, congratulate each of you for taking part in this championship and I feel all of you are winners. You are part of this Championship because of your dedication and commitment at an young age and that can take you really far in your lives ahead. Also you need to be appreciated for inspiring several others to stay mentally and physically fit. I choose to spend the children’s day amidst these kids and I feel I made the best choice and I really delighted about it. Keerthi garu’s vision has shown me a different sight of what the children can do. I was always a chubby kid and now seeing these children really made me feel empowered. I request every parent out there and every child out there to get into sports, this discipline will take children really far ahead in life and that’s really important. I am happy that schools today are focussing more on sports as an integral part of education. I feel everyone is a winner as long as you are disciplined and you can take charge of your body mind and soul.
Ms Kirthi Reddy said, we had a very encouraging response for badminton and particularly this championship with 700 participants, overall the Championship is a roaring success. Mr Gopichand who is the mentor has been an inspiration for all and thank him for the continued support.
The Winners and Runners up in the Championship were
Boys Singles – 13
Winner : K MAHENDRA VARMA
Runner : ARJUN TANAJI BIRAJDAR
Girls Singles – 13
Winner : JASHVITHA D
Runner : ANUSANJANA MURALI
Boys Doubles – 13
Winner : K MAHENDRA VARMA & VISHNU KEDAR
Runners : ARJUN TANAJI BIRAJDAR & ARYAN TANAJI BIRAJDAR
Girls Doubles – 13
Winner : HAASANA SREE & JASHVITHA D
Runners : RUTHVIKA EDALA & YOFF NELLURI
Boys Singles – 15
Winner : PRANAV RAM N
Runner : PRANAV RAM N
Girls Singles – 15
Winner : RAKSHITHA SREE
Runner : NAVYA KANDERY
Boys Doubles – 15
Winner : SAI PRASAD T & BHAVYA CHHABRA
Runners : A R ROHAN KUMAR & VARSHIT SAI
Girls Doubles – 15
Winner : NAVYA KANDERY & RAKSHITHA SREE
Runners : KEERTHI M & MAHESHWARI G
Mixed Doubles – 15
Winner : SAI PRASAD T & NAVYA KANDERY
Runners : J SHOWRYA KIRAN & DURGA ESHA
Earlier the Championship was inaugurated by Mr Venkat Jasti, Co-Founder and Director of Suven Life Sciences Limited on November 10th, 2021 and was graced by Padma Bhushan Sri Pullela Gopichand.