Vaishnavi, Sourabh, Ritika, Rashi to represent Maharashtra in West Zone Badminton

NAGPUR: Outstanding performance by city shuttlers in the recently held state tournaments helped Nagpur players secure four berths in the Maharashtra squad for the West Zone Inter-State Badminton Championship slated to be held at Ujjain from September 29 to October 2.
The four-day annual mixed team championship will be organized by Madhya Pradesh Badminton Association. Besides Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and hosts MP will via for the top honours.
Maharashtra Badminton Association secretary Sunder Shetty announced the team on Friday.
Reigning state women's singles champion Vaishnavi Bhale will spearhead the challenge in the senior state team.
Three talented city teenagers -- Sourabh Kerhalkar, Ritika Thaker and Rashi Lambe -- will represent the state junior (Under-19) team.
The senior and junior team championship will be held simultaneously. After the Inter-State team event, individual events will be played.
This is for the first time that as many as four players from Nagpur got selected in the Maharashtra squad.
Former international player Amrish Shinde will be the coach, while MBA vice-president Ashish Bajpai will accompany the team as manager.
Speaking about the team, Maharashtra skipper and Indian shuttler Harsheel Dani is confident about winning the title.
"I am happy with the selection. We have a very balanced side with right mixture of youth and experience. We should win both the senior and junior team titles," Harsheel told TOI on Saturday.
Maharashtra squad
Seniors: Harsheel Dani (Mumbai, captain), Abhishek Kulkarni (Pune), Vaishnavi Bhale (Nagpur), Sameer Bhagwat, Varun Khanwalkar (Pune), Eshan Naqvi (Thane), Gauri Ghate (Mumbai), Manasi Gadgil, Neha Pandit, Shruti Mundada (Pune).
Juniors: Sourabh Kerhalkar, Ritika Thaker, Rashi Lambe (all Nagpur), Arya Bhivapathki, Vaidehi Choudhuri (Nashik), Simran Singhi (Mumbai Suburban), Purva Barve (Pune), Deep Rambhia (Mumbai), Sahil Lokhande, Anirudha Mayekar.