All-women chair umpiring panel marks a first for Indian badminton at Junior Nationals in Gangtok
The all-women panel of chair umpires, a first for badminton in India, at the 49th Junior (U-19) National Badminton Championships in Gangtok, Sikkim. | Photo Credit: Badminton Association of Sikkim
The all-women panel of chair umpires, a first for badminton in India, at the 49th Junior (U-19) National Badminton Championships in Gangtok, Sikkim. | Photo Credit: Badminton Association of Sikkim
The 49th Junior (U-19) National Badminton Championships got underway in Gangtok, Sikkim, on Saturday, marking a significant milestone for Indian badminton as the tournament becomes the first national championship in the country to feature an all-women panel of chair umpires.
A total of 17 umpires from across the country have been selected to officiate at the domestic event. These umpires were selected after assessing their performances at the All India Ranking Tournament (U-15/U-17) held in Jaipur earlier this year.
The Inter-State team event will be played over two days with the individual events starting from November 16.
Explaining the reason behind the initiative, Badminton Association of India (BAI) Secretary General Sanjay Mishra said, “This is an important step towards encouraging more women to take up officiating at the highest level. Our objective is to create a larger pool of qualified and experienced women umpires in the country and provide them with opportunities to officiate at major national events.”
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“This initiative will also inspire more women to pursue umpiring as a career,” Mishra added.
Maharashtra, Haryana advance to semis
Formidable outfits like Maharashtra girls and Haryana boys registered comfortable wins in their opening clashes.
In the girls event, Maharashtra packed off Assam 2-0 while Haryana boys got the better of their counterparts from Maharashtra with an identical scoreline.
Uttarakhand boys and girls defeated host Sikkim in both the events to advance to the last-four stage.
Published on Nov 14, 2026
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