A nine-member Odisha squad bagged a total of nine medals in the 2nd Junior & Youth National Para Badminton Championships, which was held at Gaurav Khanna Excellence High Performance Centre in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, from 8 to 10 September 2025. The nine medals consisted of one gold, three silver and five bronze.

Bibhasindhu Barik, a para badminton international, was the most successful Odisha competitor, winning one gold, one silver and one bronze. Soumyakanta Mahakul and Rani Gardia also captured multiple medals for Odisha, securing one silver and one bronze each. Ajay Kumar Pradhan and Akash Ranjan Mund contributed one bronze each to the Odisha medal tally.

Amren Digvijay Parida, Sk Samir Akhtar, Kuldeep Mahakul and Biswa Ranjan Panda were other four members of the Odisha squad. Para Sports Association of Odisha congratulated all the medal winners and expressed gratitude to team coaches Amarendra Behera and Pratik Behera. The championship was hosted by Uttar Pradesh Badminton Association and sanctioned by Badminton Association of India.

ODISHA MEDALLISTS:

Gold: Bibhasindhu Barik with Haryana partner Kartik Suhag, U-19 boys SL-3 & SL-4 doubles (Beat Jairo Ss & Madhav Gupta in the final 21-15, 21-16).

Silver: Bibhasindhu Barik, U-19 boys SL-3 singles (Lost in the final against Kartik Suhag of Haryana 8-21, 17-21).

Silver: Soumyakanta Mahakul, U-17 boys SL-3 singles (Lost in the final against Kartik Suhag of Haryana 7-21, 14-21).

Silver: Rani Gardia, U-19 girls SL-4 & SU-5 singles (Lost to Chaitanyaa Sethi in the semifinals 9-21, 6-21).

Bronze: Soumyakanta Mahakul, U-19 boys SL-3 singles (Lost in the semifinals against Kartik Suhag of Haryana 9-21, 9-21).

Bronze: Akash Ranjan Mund, Youth boys SL-3 singles (Lost in the semifinals against Vijender 6-21, 15-21).

Bronze: Bibhasindhu Barik with Rajasthan partner Pranay Seth, Youth boys SL-3 & SL-4 doubles (Lost in the semifinals against Vijender & Yogesh 13-21, 21-19, 12-21).

Bronze: Ajay Kumar Pradhan with Andhra Pradesh partner Pyla Ganesh, U-19 boys SU-5 doubles (Lost in the semifinals, their first match, against Jatin Azad & Shivam Yadav 5-21, 12-21).

Bronze: Rani Gardia, Youth girls SU-5 singles (Lost to Shanthiya Biswanathan in the semifinal 11-21, 11-21).
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PHOTO: Odisha medal winners and coaches (L-R): Soumyakanta Mahakul, Rani Gardia, Pratik Behera, Amarendra Behera, Ajay Kumar Pradhan, Akash Ranjan Mund and Bibhasindhu Barik pose at the Junior & Youth National Para Badminton Championships in Lucknow on 10 September 2025.