Ankur and Taneesha settle for bronze at Aasian Youth Badminton
Ankur Bhattacharjee and Taneesha Kotecha claimed bronze in the Under-19 mixed doubles at the Asian Youth Championships. Divyanshi Bhowmick entered the Under-15 singles semifinals with a confident win
Hyderabad: Second seeds Ankur Bhattacharjee and Taneesha Kotecha had to settle for a bronze medal after being edged out in a gritty Under-19 mixed doubles semifinal by South Korea’s Kim Gaon and Park Gahyeon at the 29th Asian Youth Championships 2025, held at Tashkent’s Humo Arena on Monday.
The Indian pair fought valiantly but went down 2-3 in a tightly contested match, with the Koreans prevailing 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 3-11, 11-3. After trailing 1-2, Ankur and Taneesha staged a spirited comeback to force a decider. They played superbly in the fourth game but faltered in the fifth, allowing their opponents to take control. Missed opportunities and untimely unforced errors cost the Indians dearly in what was otherwise a well-fought encounter.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Divyanshi Bhowmick assured herself of at least a bronze medal after advancing to the semifinals of the Under-15 girls’ singles. She put up a strong performance to beat China’s Huize Yang 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-1, 11-7). After dropping the second game, Divyanshi rebounded strongly, dominating the remainder of the match. She will face another Chinese opponent, Ziling Liu, in the semifinals tomorrow.
In an earlier round, the Indian pair of Priyanuj Bhattacharyya and Syndrela Das exited in the Under-19 mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals, losing in straight games to North Korea’s Jon Ju Phyong and Jo Hong Rim. Despite challenging their opponents closely, the Indians went down 9-11, 6-11, 9-11.
In singles action, Ankolika Chakraborty fell short in a gruelling Under-15 girls’ quarterfinal, losing to South Korea’s Heo Yerim 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 12-14 in a see-saw battle that went the distance. Naisa Reewaskar, meanwhile, bowed out in the first round after a straight-game defeat to Hong Kong’s Yeung Yee Lam (5-11, 4-11, 6-11).
