Chengdu: India showcased its rising prowess in badminton at the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Championships, securing its best-ever medal haul. The tournament, held in Chengdu, witnessed outstanding performances from the Indian contingent, culminating in two gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

Shaina Manimuthu and Diksha Sudhakar emerged as the stars of the show, clinching gold medals in their respective categories. In the U15 girls' singles final, Shaina demonstrated her dominance by overcoming Japan's Chiharu Tomita with a score of 21-14, 22-20. Shaina displayed resilience, especially in the second game, to secure the victory in 44 minutes. Meanwhile, Diksha outclassed her compatriot, Lakshya Rajesh, in the U17 girls' singles final, winning 21-16, 21-9. Diksha's victory marked her as the first Indian singles player to win a U17 title at the Junior Asian Championships.

Lakshya Rajesh's journey to the final was marked by an impressive upset against top seed Lalita Sattayathadakoon of Thailand in the semi-finals. After losing the first game, Lakshya demonstrated remarkable composure to win the next two games and secure her place in the final.

India had already secured five medals before the final matches. In the U17 category, Diksha Sudhakar defeated Yun Chiao Su of Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals, while Lakshya Rajesh triumphed over Japan's Ria Haga. Shaina Manimuthu had a tough semi-final match against China's Yun Jie Yi, ultimately securing her place in the final. However, India's hopes were dashed in the U17 mixed doubles and boys' doubles categories, with Jangjeet Singh Kajla and Jananika Ramesh, and Jagsher Singh Khangurra, respectively, losing their semi-final matches.

Shaina became the fourth Indian girls' singles player to win the U15 crown, joining the ranks of Samiya Farooqui and Tasnim Mir, who won in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Diksha's historic win in the U17 category and Shaina's U15 victory contributed to India's best-ever medal haul at the Badminton Asia U17 & U15 Championships. This achievement underscores the growing strength of Indian badminton at the junior level and highlights the promising future of the sport in the country. The previous best performance was in 2013 when Siril Verma and the duo of Chirag Shetty and MR Arjun won the U15 boys' singles title and U17 boys’ doubles crown respectively.