Leading Odisha badmintonist Pragati Parida won the mixed doubles bronze medal in the Nepal Junior International Series, which concluded at Tripureshwor in Kathmandu today. She achieved the feat by reaching semifinals with Chhattisgarh partner Saurav Sahu.

Pragati and Saurav won two matches on their way to the semifinals where they lost to Indian opponents Garv Sahni and Ishita Negi 19-21, 20-22. This was the fifth international medal (all bronze) of the year for Jajpur girl Pragati, who now trains at Badminton Association of India (BAI) National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, Assam.

Pragati claimed her earlier four international medals at Sri Lanka International Series (Colombo), Hyderabad Junior International Series (Hyderabad), India Junior International Grand Prix (Pune) and Telangana International Challenge (Hyderabad).

Besides the five international medals, 17-year-old Pragati bagged five zonal and national medals, including two gold in 2024. She played an instrumental role in the Odisha girls team winning the gold medal for the first time at the Inter-State National Junior Badminton Championship last month in Bhubaneswar.

Former trainee of Bhubaneswar-based Odisha-SAI Regional Badminton Academy, Pragati secured her other gold medal of the year in womens doubles category of the East Zone Inter-State Badminton Championship in Gaya, Bihar three months back.
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PHOTO: Pragati Parida and Saurav Sahu pose with their mixed doubles bronze medal at the Nepal Junior International Series in Tripureshwor on 29 December 2024.