Abinash Mohanty and Ayush Pattanayak made Odisha proud by winning the mens doubles bronze medal in the Kampala International BWF Future Series Badminton Tournament, which was held at Lugogo Indoor Stadium in Kampala, Uganda from 26 to 29 September 2024. This was the first international medal for both Abinash and Ayush.

The Odisha duo secured the bronze by reaching semifinals where they went down fighting to Malaysian opponents Ashraf Daniel Md Zakaria and M Ariffin Nazri Md Zakaria 22-24, 21-18. Earlier in the quarterfinals, they beat Indian pair of Abhyuday Choudhary and Krish Desai 21-8, 21-7.

Abinsh and Ayush started their campaign with a walk-over against Ugandan combination of Godfrey Amissi Alema and Denis Onyango and then defeated third-seeded Azerbaijan combination of Agil Gabilov and Dicky Dwi Pangestu to book their berth in the quarterfinals.

Odisha woman shuttler Harshitaa Rout also participated in the Kampala International 2024. Basically a doubles player, Harshitaa competed in singles event as her doubles partner Sruti Swain opted out. Pitted against singles top seed Fadilah Shamika Mohamed Rafi (Uganda), Harshitaa put up a valiant fight before losing 21-17, 19-21, 16-21 in the opening round.

Abinash, Ayush, Harshitaa would also participate in the Uganda International Series 2024, which is set to be held at the same venue October 3 to 6. Four more Odisha shuttlers would be competing in the same tournament. They are: mens doubles pair of Abhijit Maharana, Amrit Mohanty and mixed doubles combination of Ayush Dash and Purba Pratyasha Panda.
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PHOTO: Odisha shuttlers Abinash Mohanty (Left) and Ayush Pattanayak pose with their doubles bronze medal at the Kampala International in Uganda on 29 September 2024.