New Delhi, Oct 31 (Badminton News) Badminton Association of India on Monday announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh each for Sankar Muthusamy and the men’s doubles pair of Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty for their commendable performances at the World Junior Championships and French Open respectively.

Former junior world number 1, Sankar on Sunday became only the second Indian male shuttler to claim a silver medal at the World Junior Championships after going down in the summit clash against Chinese Taipei’s Kuo kuan Lin in Spain.

Satwik and Chirag, on the other hand, claimed the French Open Super 750 crown with a straight game win over Chinese Taipei’s Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in the finals at Paris. "This is a great moment of pride for all of us to see both our junior as well as senior shuttlers ensuring podium finishes defeating top class players and becoming the flag bearers of pride and glory," said BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma in a release.

En route to their title run at Paris, Satwik and Chirag had become the first Indian doubles pair to win a BWF Super 750 tournament. The two had also defeated the World Number 1 pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi in the quarter-final.

Meanwhile, 18-year-old Sankar became the ninth Indian shuttler to bag a medal at the premier junior championships.

"The boys in the past one week have played some fearless badminton and we are really glad to see India finishing among the top countries at such global events. This will also be a huge inspiration for the younger generations," said BAI Secretary Sanjay Mishra.

Satwik and Chirag have had a dream run this year, claiming the India Open title, followed by the historic Thomas Cup and Commonwealth Games victory and winning a bronze medal at the World Championships. 

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News Source : PTI