Jalandhar, August 26, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Aneesh Bhardwaj and Manya Ralhan emerged champions in the men’s and women’s singles events, respectively, as the four-day Innocent Hearts Jalandhar District Badminton Championship concluded at the Raizada Hansraj Badminton Stadium here on Tuesday.
In the men’s singles final, Aneesh defeated Zorawar Singh 13-15, 15-8, 15-11, while Manya beat defending champion Samridhi Bhardwaj 15-10, 15-11 in the women’s singles final. Both winners received the Pullela Gopichand and PV Sindhu trophies along with cash prizes of Rs 21,000 each.
Former national badminton player Kanwaljit Singh Kaka was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the sport and services to badminton. Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Singh Walia, the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony, also honoured Dr Nitish Garg and Dr Piyush Sharma with Life Saviour Awards for saving a player’s life by administering CPR at the stadium recently.
Walia congratulated the winners and participants and appreciated the interim committee of the District Badminton Association, Jalandhar, for improving facilities and working for players’ welfare. He said the Mann government remained committed to promoting and strengthening sports in Punjab.
Walia said the state had developed 3,100 rural sports grounds and 600 rural gyms over the past four years. Under the updated sports policy, Rs 135 crore had been awarded as prize money to 40,415 athletes, he said. He added that Jalandhar would host the Hockey Asian Champions Trophy and Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship later this year.
Dr Rohan Bowry, Director of the Innocent Hearts Group, was the guest of honour.
Punjab Badminton Association Secretary Ritin Khanna said the championship received a record response, with more than 600 entries across 38 events. Players from the Under-11 category to the 65-plus veterans competed, with 504 matches played during the four-day tournament. Cash prizes and other awards worth Rs 5 lakh were distributed among the winners.
Among the junior winners, Vansh Sharma and Samreet Kaur claimed the Under-11 boys’ and girls’ singles titles, while Ameera and Rinzen Singh won the girls’ doubles. Abhijay Manaktala and Nimrat Kaur Mann won the Under-13 singles titles, with Nimrat and Varanya Soni taking the girls’ doubles crown.
In the Under-15 category, Zorawar Singh Lubhana and Prabhsirat Kaur won the singles titles, while Myrah Chopra and Suvreen Kaur claimed the girls’ doubles. Zorawar Singh and Shivali Sharma emerged Under-17 singles champions, while Prabhsirat and Suvreen won the girls’ doubles.
Zorawar Singh and Shivali Sharma won the Under-19 boys’ and girls’ singles titles, respectively. Manya Ralhan and Simarpreet Kaur claimed the women’s doubles title.
The Masters competitions saw Vikas Khanna, Manish Aggarwal, Santokh Singh and Ram Lakhan win the men’s 40-plus, 50-plus, 55-plus and 60-plus singles titles, respectively. In doubles, Abhinav Bahri and Anand, Deepak Chopra and Harpreet Singh Alhuwalia, Rajeev Handa and Vikas Jain, and Ashish Kumar and Vikas Khanna emerged winners in their respective categories.
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