Makode- Poonam pair clinches silver

Kiran and Poonam started strong, winning the first game 21-16. However, their opponents bounced back, taking the second game 21-18. The decider saw intense rallies, with both pairs tied at 5-5 in the early stages. Rao and Suzzane pulled ahead at 11-5 by the mid-game break, but Kiran’s sharp cross-court drives and Poonam’s razor-sharp serves helped them close the gap to 13-15. Despite their spirited comeback, they fell just short, losing 17-21 in a grueling 50-minute contest.

Kiran and Poonam’s silver medal run included some major upsets and hard-fought victories. In the quarterfinals they stunned the top-seeded pair of Vibhor Swaroop & Shalini Yadav in a three-game thriller 21-13, 15-21, 21-18.

While in Semifinals, they overcame a stiff challenge from Kamalakar Rao & Saroj Sawant, winning in straight games 21-13, 21-19.

Kiran’s incredible run at the Nationals has earned him a spot in the Indian squad for the prestigious BWF World Senior Badminton Championships 2025, to be held in Thailand in September 2025. With this, Kiran got selected for eighth time in the Indian team at the BWF World Senior Badminton Championships. Previously he was selected for the BWF World Championships held in Spain (2009), Turkey (2013), Sweden (2015), Kochi (2017), Poland (2019), Spain (2021), & Korea (2023)

Apart from his World Championship feats, Kiran has also represented India in the prestigious Foo Kok Keong Cup Team Championships in Singapore (2017), in Hong Kong (2018) & in Indonesia (2019)

An elated Kiran expressed his heartfelt gratitude to US Mallick (SDM, LICI Nagpur D.O.),Arun Lakhani (President, MBA),Shrikant Vad (MBA general secretary), Mangesh Kashikar (MBA senior VP), Kundatai Vijayakar ( NDBA president , Rajani Kumari (Manager, Legal LICI ), and the entire team of LICI Sports & Recreation Club, Nagpur for their unwavering support and motivation.