The opening day of the Shri O N Dixit Memorial Winter Jaipur District Open Badminton Championship witnessed a stunning upset as young shuttler Himaksh toppled the second seed, Siddhant Singh. The exciting action unfolded on Tuesday at the SMS Indoor Stadium in a tournament organized by the Jaipur District Badminton Association (JDBA).
A Day of Fierce Competition and a Major Surprise
The inaugural day of the six-day annual tournament was packed with action, seeing more than 300 matches played across various categories. With approximately 500 players aged between 11 and 75 years in the fray, the competition was intense from the start. The highlight, however, was the thrilling match in the U-13 boys' category, where Himaksh delivered a remarkable performance to overcome the favored Siddhant Singh. While this was the day's big shock, other seeded players managed to secure their spots and advance safely to the next rounds.
Progress of Seeded Players Across Age Groups
In other categories, the tournament proceeded with seeded players largely holding their ground. In the U-11 boys singles, a group of 16 players, including seeded contenders Naitik Bansal and Lakshit Rewar, successfully entered the third round. The U-11 girls singles saw the top 16 players, led by first seed Rashi Sihag and Ruhani Yadav, move into the pre-quarterfinals. Similarly, in the U-13 girls singles, top seed Padmaja, Renuka Bishnoi, and 14 other players have progressed to the third round.
Inauguration and a New Scholarship Announcement
The championship was formally inaugurated by dignitaries including Malviya Nagar MLA Kalicharan Saraf, Principal Income Tax director (Investigation) Awadhesh Kumar, and former Chief Justice N K Jain, along with Pankaj Dixit. JDBA officials, including secretary Manoj Dasot, president Anil Mehta, Patron Rajeev Nagori, and organising secretary Atul Gupta, were present on the occasion.
A significant announcement marked the day as JDBA president Anil Mehta launched the Late Shanti Mehta Scholarship in memory of his mother. Shanti Mehta was a national-level badminton player, the principal of Jodhpur Physical Education College, and the physical director of Rajasthan University. Mehta stated that four players in the U-15 and U-19 age groups (both boys and girls) would be awarded a scholarship of Rs 21,000 per year under this initiative.
Looking ahead, organising secretary Atul Gupta confirmed that matches will resume at 10 am on Wednesday. The schedule for the day includes the fourth-round matches in the U-11, U-13, U-15, and U-17 categories for both boys and girls.
