Jodhpur teenager Sanskar Saraswat jumps to India No. 1 in Under-19 boys singles; two Rajasthan shuttlers in BAI's top-5 rankings

JAIPUR: Sanskar Saraswat is riding on a wave of success this year. After guiding Rajasthan to their maiden North Zone triumph a couple of months ago in Chandigarh and pocketing the U-19 boys singles title at the All India Ranking tournament in Panchkula last month, Sanskar is now the No. 1 player in India in the junior category.
According to the latest rankings released by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Monday, Jodhpur teenager has jumped to the numero uno spot in the U-19 boys singles.
The talented 18-year-old also became the first from Rajasthan to reach the top of national junior rankings. Surprisingly when the year began, Sankar was not ranked in the top 20.
However, a series of impressive performances in the All India Ranking tournaments this season helped him reach the pinnacle. A few months ago, Sanskar was runner-up at the All India tournament in Bhubaneshwar after losing the final narrowly.
However, at the Panchkula tournament in September, Sanskar emerged as champion which boosted his rankings substantially.
“I was ranked third before the Panchkula tournament. Thanks to my first national-level title, I achieved the top position. It was always my dream to become junior India No. 1 player. Now, my target is to become the national junior champion next month,” Sanskar told TOI Monday.
The Junior National Championship will be held in Orissa from November 19. The tall shuttler is preparing hard at the BAI’s National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati after bagging the historic twin bronze medals at the Senior All India Ranking tournament in Lucknow last week.
“There is still a month to go for the Junior Nationals. I am determined to win the crown and also end the year on top. Ever since I joined Guwahati national centre, there has been a remarkable improvement in my game. I want to thank my coaches and parents for my success,” said Sanskar, who represented the junior Indian badminton team earlier this year.
In the U-19 boys doubles, Sanskar is ranked third. Sanskar and his partner Arsh Mohammad of Uttar Pradesh have recently bagged a bronze medal at the All India Senior Ranking tournament in Lucknow.
Another Rajasthan shuttler Manish Phogat is ranked No. 5 in the U-19 boys singles.
There are some other talents also coming up from the region. Arnav Sharma is ranked second in the U-17 mixed doubles. Jangjeet Singh Kajla and Arnav Sharma are ranked seventh and eighth, respectively in the U-17 boys doubles.
In the U-17 girls singles, Parul Choudhary and Sneha Lamba are ranked tenth and eleventh, respectively.
Junior U-19 players rankings