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Sub-Junior National Badminton Champion found guilty of age fraud
Following the revelations of top Indian players being found overage, it seems that this problem isn't going to go away for a while for the Badminton Association of India. After news broke of top shuttlers like Aakarshi Kashyap and Lakshya Sen being found overage, another big name has come up with similar issues- this time, it is Junior player Pranav Rao Gandham. 
Pranav Rao Gandham A student of Gopichand Academy, Pranav has been partnering the son of his mentor for quite some time now. Recently, he even won the Junior Ranking tournament Men's Doubles title with Sai Vishnu Gopichand. Post the tournament. However, startling revelations have now pointed to the age-old problem in Indian Badminton. According to the Secretary Events, Badminton Association of India, Pranav Rao's father GV Mohan Rao had submitted two birth certificates of two different dates. One stated that his son was born on January 14, 2005, and the other stating that the year of his birth was 2004. Both certificates were submitted at periods which enabled Pranav to play in the U15 category. "This is a serious case indeed," said Omar Rashid. According to our sources, Pranav is due to have his medical records checked and reviewed by the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). Preliminary X-ray reports have shown the boy as already having four reasonably developed wisdom teeth. Medically speaking, wisdom teeth only appear around 17-18 years of age. These are the records which AIIMS will be looking into. If found guilty, Pranav can be penalised within the next three months. The Nagpur based tournament had seen the blazing display of Vishnu Gopichand, and Pranav as the duo clinched the Boys Doubles All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament 2018 title. They had also reached the semi-finals at the All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament 2018 at Hyderabad in a dominating display. All in all, age issues within the BAI are rife. With Pullela Gopichand already under the scanner on charges of conflict of interest since the Asian Games squad was announced, one wonders whether Pranav's choice of partner may have had anything to do with this long-standing attempt to conceal his age.
Pranav Rao Gandham A student of Gopichand Academy, Pranav has been partnering the son of his mentor for quite some time now. Recently, he even won the Junior Ranking tournament Men's Doubles title with Sai Vishnu Gopichand. Post the tournament. However, startling revelations have now pointed to the age-old problem in Indian Badminton. According to the Secretary Events, Badminton Association of India, Pranav Rao's father GV Mohan Rao had submitted two birth certificates of two different dates. One stated that his son was born on January 14, 2005, and the other stating that the year of his birth was 2004. Both certificates were submitted at periods which enabled Pranav to play in the U15 category. "This is a serious case indeed," said Omar Rashid. According to our sources, Pranav is due to have his medical records checked and reviewed by the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS). Preliminary X-ray reports have shown the boy as already having four reasonably developed wisdom teeth. Medically speaking, wisdom teeth only appear around 17-18 years of age. These are the records which AIIMS will be looking into. If found guilty, Pranav can be penalised within the next three months. The Nagpur based tournament had seen the blazing display of Vishnu Gopichand, and Pranav as the duo clinched the Boys Doubles All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament 2018 title. They had also reached the semi-finals at the All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament 2018 at Hyderabad in a dominating display. All in all, age issues within the BAI are rife. With Pullela Gopichand already under the scanner on charges of conflict of interest since the Asian Games squad was announced, one wonders whether Pranav's choice of partner may have had anything to do with this long-standing attempt to conceal his age.Next Story
