Ludhiana, Oct. 31 -- More than 300 players are competing for top honours as the Punjab State Junior (U-19) and Senior Badminton Championship commenced at Shastri Badminton Hall on Friday. Organised by the Badminton Association of Ludhiana, the four-day tournament will run until November 2.

Deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain inaugurated the championship. The opening day witnessed several keenly contested matches in the men's singles category as participants battled intensely for a place in the next round.

Viren Seth, Vakul Sharma, and Naksh Verma advanced with byes, while Harshdeep Singh, Himansh Dhiman, and Hemant Kumar progressed through walkovers.

Deepinder Singh defeated Prince Chawla 15-9, 15-13, while Manavdeep Singh overcame a sti...