Unnati Hooda won her second BWF Super 100 World Tour title. She became the youngest Indian to win a BWF title last year at 14 years of age, beating 21-year-old Smit Toshniwal in the final. In that tournament also, she defeated Farooqui in the quarterfinals.
Ayush Shetty and Unnati Hooda will spearhead the Indian challenge as the Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced the sixteen-member Indian squad for the upcoming BWF World Junior Championships 2023, scheduled to take place in Spokane in the US from September 25
Ashmita Chaliha first defeated compatriot Unnati Hooda 21-16, 13-21, 21-19 in her first qualifier and then beat Kristin Kuuba of Estonia to confirm her berth in the main draw.
One of Asia's most prestigious junior badminton tournaments, which is scheduled in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from July 7-16, provides a remarkable platform for young talents to showcase their skills and compete against the best players from across the continent.
This elevates the magnitude of the games as the TOPS athletes, who are international achievers already, will inspire the grassroots-level athletes to up the ante and provide a tough contest, as per Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Earlier, men's singles shuttler Gnana Dattu and men's doubles pair Bjorn Jaison and Aathish Sreenivas P. V. had secured bronze medals in the U-15 category.
Top-seed Unnati once again lived up to the expectations and stamped her authority in the U-17 women's singles semi-final when she wrapped up the match in straight sets. The Odisha Open champion has not yet dropped a set in her campaign at the prestigious event.