CM Trophy India International Challenge: As the India Open 2025 approaches, excitement builds not only for the presence of seasoned champions but also for the promising talents who are set to make their mark on one of the most prestigious badminton stages.Among the participants are a host of young Indian players across singles, doubles, and mixed doubles categories, each carrying immense potential and a story of perseverance and determination.
These emerging stars have consistently displayed their mettle on the national and international circuits, earning their place in this Super 750 tournament. Their journey reflects the growing depth of talent in Indian badminton, and their participation promises to add vibrancy and youthful energy to the event.
Here’s a closer look at these rising players, their accomplishments, and the excitement they bring to the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2025:
Women’s singles
Rakshita Sree Santosh Ramraj
Rakshita Sree is a promising singles player from Tamil Nadu who has been climbing the international ranking chart quite steadily in the last year. The 17-year-old, who stands out with her height and built on the domestic circuit, clinched her first international title by winning the Slovenia Open and then added the CM Trophy International Challenge in Raipur gold medal to that tally.
In 2024, she also reached the final of the Telangana International Challenge in Hyderabad and the St. Denis Reunion Open and went on to reach the quarterfinals of the senior nationals in Bengaluru.
Men’s doubles
Pruthvi K Roy/K Sai Pratheek
Pruthvi started playing badminton as a 10-year-old in Shimoga in Karnataka and focused on singles till he moved to Bengaluru and started focusing on his doubles skills. He then moved to the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati and partnered with Suraj Goala to clinch the senior Nationals men’s doubles title last year.
His partner K. Sai Pratheek has been part of the national team set-up for a few years now and was even part of the Indian men’s team that bagged the silver medal in the 2022 Asian Games. He and Pruthvi came together last year and went on to win the India International in Hyderabad and were runners-up in the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament and then reached the semifinals of the Odisha Masters Super 100.
Mayank Rana/Chayanit Joshi
Both Mayank Rana of Haryana and Chayanit Joshi of Uttarakhand were promising singles players during their junior days, even finishing on the podium in All India ranking meets. But they quickly made the shift to doubles and had been playing with different partners till early last year.
After pairing together, Rana and Joshi have so far played nine tournaments together, reaching the semifinals of the Sri Lanka International Challenge and CM Trophy India International Challenge and ending the year with a runners-up trophy in the Nepal International Challenge.
Women’s doubles
Mansa Rawat/Gayatri Rawat
The Rawat sisters from Almora in Uttarakhand shifted to Bengaluru when they were in their early teens to pursue a badminton career. After trying to make it big in singles, they decided to focus on girls’ doubles for the last three-four years and the results have been promising.
The 2023 junior national championships runners-up, started playing on the senior international circuit in 2024 and went on to win the Kampala International and Uganda International Series titles before ending the year with a semi-final finish in the Odisha Masters Super 100 in Bhubaneshwar.
Apoorva Gahlawat/Sakshi Gahlawat
The Gahlawat sisters from Sonipat have been training in their hometown, balancing their graduation studies and playing consistently on the national and international circuit for quite a few years now.
Apporva and Sakshi were also part of the Haryana women’s squad that won the Senior Inter-State title for the first time earlier this year and will be looking to build on the success of the 2024 season with a strong start to 2025 at the India Open Super 750.
Mrunmayee Deshpande/Prerna Alvekar
Mrunmayee Deshpande and Prerna Alvekar, the two girls from Maharashtra, started their badminton journey from Sholapur and Kolhapur districts respectively, places not really known for producing top badminton players in the state.
Both were relatively successful in singles at the state level but decided to make a shift to doubles with an eye on playing bigger tournaments. The left-right combination has been relatively successful on the national circuit and also reached the semifinals of the Sri Lanka International Series last year.
The India Open Super 750 would only be their seventh international competition together and the pair would be hoping to impress the fans without flair and gumption.
Sania Sikkandar/Rashmi Ganesh
Both Sania Sikkandar of Tamil Nadu and Rashmi Ganesh of Karnataka had been toiling hard in the state circuit, reaching the medal rounds in singles and doubles.
Sania even won a bronze medal in the Khelo India Youth Games 2022. The young combination started playing on the international circuit just over six months ago and have been making steady progress. And the participation in India Open Super 750 will be an enriching experience for the duo.
Kavya Gupta/Radhika Sharma
A combination of experience and youth, the pairing of Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma holds promise. Kavya played women’s doubles for many years with her sister Khushi while Radhika, the elder sibling of rising women’s singles talent Tanvi, recently made the shift from singles to doubles.
The pair has just played three tournaments together on the international circuit and the India Open Super 750 will be a real test of their ability to match the best in the world.
Mixed doubles
Ashith Surya/Amrutha Prathumesh
Ashith and Amrutha are both late bloomers who have been pursuing badminton while also keeping pace with their higher education. Ashith has already completed his engineering degree while Amrutha aims to be a lawyer by profession.
The duo train together in Bengaluru and have been consistently producing good results on the circuit, which has helped them get an entry in the India Open Super 750 event.
Ashith and Amrutha are both late bloomers who have been pursuing badminton while also keeping pace with their higher education. Ashith has already completed his engineering degree while Amrutha aims to be a lawyer by profession.
Article Source: IANS
