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What's the story?
Rising young shuttler Rohan Gurbani has been selected in the Indian junior badminton team for the upcoming Europe tour.
The background
Nagpur-born Rohan Gurbani is a highly-rated junior shuttler. The teenager is a former Sub-Junior (U-15 and U-17) National Champion. In September 2019, he was also picked for the BWF World Junior U-19 Badminton Championship in Russia.
A student of the Centre Point School in Katol, the 17-year-old has steadily risen in the ranks in the junior circuit. He has played a total of 21 matches in the BWF circuit, out of which he has won 13 and lost 8. The rising shuttler also finished U-19 Boys Singles runner-up at the 44th Junior Badminton Championship in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, in January. His splendid run to the finals helped him catch the eye of the selectors.
Here is the complete squad named for the Europe tour:
Boys: Rohan Gurbani, Ravi, Varun Kapur, Harsh Arora, Rithvik Sanjeevi Satish Kumar, Pranav Rao Gandham, Sai Vishnu Pullela, and Meiraba Luwang
Girls: Tasnim Mir, Utsava Palit, Tanya Hemanth, Mansi Singh, Aditi Bhatt, Shruti Mishra, Treesa Jolly, Meghana Reddy Mareddy
The heart of the matter
Rohan Gurbani will now have a chance to represent the nation at the 2020 Dutch Junior International tournament that has been scheduled at Haarlem in the Netherlands between February 26 and March 1.
Then after a break of a couple of days, the Indian team will travel to play the 2020 German Junior Open in Berlin. Both these are Junior International Grand Prix tournaments.
In-form youngster Rohan, who has been training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy since 2017, will be looking to make the most of his opportunity and impress at the European tour.
Speaking to TOI after the selection, Rohan said:
"This is my third selection in the national junior team. Obviously, I am very happy. It is always an honour to represent the country. I want to give credit to my parents, all the coaches at PPBA and support staff for my selection. I want to make my good form count in Europe."
What's next?
Gurbani is already in the Netherlands with fellow Indian youngsters taking part in the tournament. He will be locking horns with Russia's Egor Borisov in the first round of the prestigious Dutch Junior International 2020.
