India, Jan. 29 -- The crowd erupted in cheers as Uttarakhand shuttlers Aditi Bhatt and Angel Punera clinched the deciding doubles match against Gujarat's Tasnim Mir and Shreya Lele, handing the home team a resounding start in the women's team event at the National Games here. The Gujarat team led by former junior world No.1 Mir was neck-and-neck before the hosts prevailed 3-2 at the newly-built badminton hall here.

Badminton is one sport the hosts are banking on to push their medal count. That is because of the presence of India's star shuttler Lakshya Sen and the ripple effect the success of this player from Almora is having on the badminton scene in this hilly state.

From Almora to Pithoragarh to Dehradun, badminton courts have come u...