Goan shuttler is India No 1

PANAJI: Anushka Kuvelkar was "super excited" after the Badminton Association of India confirmed that she was now India's top-ranked player in the junior mixed doubles category.
Last month, Anushka was ranked fourth in the under-19 mixed doubles category but confirmation that she had surged to the top - alongside her partner Chandrabhushan Tripathi of Uttar Pradesh - came when she was named top seed for the season opening All India Junior Ranking Badminton Championship in Kochi next month.
"I always aimed to be No. 1, at some point of my life in juniors, especially in doubles. I have always focused on doubles and to hear that I am now the top ranked player is really exciting," Anushka told TOI late on Sunday.
The 17-year-old from Ponda's rise to the top in India's junior badminton circle has been steady. She has been a consistent performer on the circuit and proof that she had come of age came when she, partnering Tripathi, won the bronze medal at the Nationals in Chandigarh last year.
Their performance got them wide recognition and also a place in the Indian team for two international tournaments. They first donned the India colours at the Dutch Junior International 2014 Grade A badminton tournament in Netherlands and then the German Junior 2014 international badminton championship in Berlin, Germany.
"It was my dream to represent the country. I managed that not just in one tournament but two. Now I want more," said Kuvelkar, who is ranked fifth in doubles. She partners Anushka Parekh from Gujarat.
Anushka's badminton aspirations got a shot in the arm when she completed her SSC examination and was invited to an academy in Lucknow. The officials at the academy looked around and discovered that local lad Chandrabhushan Tripathi's game suited her the best. They trained together for three months at the academy and the results quickly started to flow.
"It's a great day and extremely proud moment for Goan badminton as our young shuttler is now ranked No 1 in India in the juniors mixed doubles. Congratulations and wishing her all the very best from all of us," GBA vice-president Sandeep Heble said in a congratulatory message.