Manipur shuttler Maisnam Meiraba wins Bangladesh Junior International title

Manipur shuttler Maisnam Meiraba Luwang prevailed over Ken Yon Ong of Malaysia 21-14, 21-18 in an exciting 38-minute thriller to clinch the Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh Junior International Badminton Series 2019 title at Dhaka on Sunday.

Ranked eighth, this is Meiraba’s third title of the year, having won the Korea Junior Open International Challenge and Russian Junior White Nights previously. Earlier yesterday, the top seed Meiraba carved out a 21-17, 14-21, 21-14 win against M Fazriq Mohamad Razif of Malaysia to advance to the finals.

Having received a first-round bye, the 17-year-old had an impressive outing this week as he defeated Malaysia’s Zhen Yi 21-18, 21-12 in the second round to trounce Arnick Plungvachira of Thailand 21-16, 21-14 in the quarter-final. In the women’s singles event, Treesa Jolly went down fighting against Thailand’s third-seed Krittaporn Jiantanet by a scoreline of 12-21, 21-16, 16-21.

Also read: Romesh Luwang: The man who’s shaping rising shuttler Maisnam Meiraba’s dream

Making headlines in the newspapers, Meiraba is already turning heads with his sublime stroke play and a rich repertoire of strokes at such a young age. The success of Meiraba is a testament to India’s growth as a badminton powerhouse and the cultivation of talent at the grassroots level.

The region of Northeast possesses one of the richest pool of talents for sports all across the nation. Since, the turn of the decade, there has been an upsurge of potential in the region as the North East has established itself as a sporting powerhouse. From Assam to Manipur, the likes of Mary Kom, Mirabai Chanu have established a new yardstick for success. Meiraba is the latest sensation from the region, adding badminton to the long list success stories from Northeast.