NEW DELHI: India’s top badminton stars have rallied behind the country’s 25-member squad set to compete in the BWF World Junior Championships 2025, which will take place in Guwahati from October 6-19. The event returns to India after 17 years, having last been hosted in Pune in 2008.
Veteran shuttler HS Prannoy, who won a bronze at the 2010 edition, called it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the young players. “This is the first stepping stone. From here you know what to expect in the next couple of years, because next you’re getting into the senior level,” he said.
Lakshya Sen, himself a product of the junior system, urged the team to make full use of home conditions, while doubles specialist Ashwini Ponnappa encouraged the players to “trust their training” at the National Centre of Excellence (NCE), where most of the squad has been preparing.
With India hosting the world’s brightest junior talent, expectations are high for the young shuttlers to leave their mark and carry forward the nation’s growing badminton legacy.
