Shillong, Sept 17: Assam dominated the team championships on the second day of the North East Zone Inter-State Badminton Championship 2026, winning all four finals at the JN Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
Assam defeated Arunachal Pradesh in the boys’ team final and Manipur in the men’s team final, while they also overcame Mizoram in both the girls’ and women’s team finals.
Meghalaya, meanwhile, enjoyed some success in the individual championships, with the Kharbuki brothers, Raynell and Gavin, progressing to the quarter-finals of the U-19 boys’ singles.
Fourth seed Netania T Tariang also advanced in the girls’ U-19 singles, defeating Sikkim’s Choying Tsepel Tamang 15-2, 15-3 in a one-sided Round of 16 encounter.
Sneha Chettri was unable to join her in the quarter-finals, losing 15-12, 15-13 to Mizoram’s Lalnunhluni in a closely fought contest.
Raynell produced a strong performance against Sikkim’s Porvash Prasad, winning 15-4, 15-10. After being made to work harder in the second game, Raynell recovered from a deficit to close out the match and secure his place in the last eight.
He then headed into the gallery to support his younger brother Gavin, who was involved in a three-game battle against Mizoram’s Lalpekhluzuala.
Gavin took the opening game 15-6 before Lalpekhluzuala levelled the match by winning the second 15-10. The Mizoram player appeared to experience discomfort after falling on court during the second game, but continued the contest. Gavin maintained his composure in the decider and won 15-7 to book his place in the quarter-finals alongside his brother.
Several other Meghalaya players, including Elsarica Umdor, Pratiksha Joshi, Benhanan Kharwanlang and Gitchiak Bregim A Sangma, were scheduled to compete in their Round of 16 matches later in the evening.
The team championship finals took place during the morning session, with Assam’s boys completing a 2-0 victory over Arunachal Pradesh.
The girls’ final was more closely contested. Assam won the opening singles match before Mizoram took the doubles to level the tie. Assam then won the deciding singles match to secure a 2-1 victory and the title.
The men’s and women’s team finals were played over a best-of-five format. Manipur made a strong start in the men’s final by winning the opening singles match, but Assam responded by taking the next two singles and the doubles to complete a 3-1 victory.
Assam were even more convincing in the women’s final, defeating Mizoram 3-0. Their team included star shuttler Ashmita Chaliha, who was part of India’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships.
The individual championships continue on Friday, with the quarter-final stage set to take place at the JN Indoor Stadium.
