Kula Pradip Bhagawati

Shillong, September 17 : There is a photograph from this morning at the JN Indoor Stadium in Shillong that tells you everything about Assam badminton right now. Four trophies on one table. Four teams in one frame — senior men, senior women, junior boys, junior girls. And one state — Assam.
For the first time in the history of the Yonex-Sunrise Northeast Zonal Inter-State Badminton Championship, a single state has won all four team gold. On the same day. Within 12 hours. It is called a sweep. In Shillong, they are calling it a statement. Because the two senior gold mean more than medals. They mean Assam will now represent the entire Northeast in the team events of the National Games 2027. The region will wear Assam's jersey.

Morning: The Kids Who Finished It in 57 Minutes
The day started with the juniors — and they set the tone. At 10 am, the junior boys final — Assam vs Arunachal Pradesh. On paper, Arunachal had been strong. On court, Assam had Bornil Aakash Changmai. Bornil is not just any junior. He is the first Indian ever to win the BWF World Junior Championship title. When he walks into a Northeast junior final, it is like bringing a gun to a shuttle fight.
He won his singles without dropping sweat. Then he paired with Anayan Bora to win the doubles. 2-0. The tie was over in 57 minutes. The scoreboard operator in Shillong did not even get to finish his tea. Bornil did not celebrate. He just packed his racquets. He has bigger tournaments to play. But for the Assam junior boys, his presence is what Virat Kohli's presence would be for a Delhi U-19 team — it tells the other team you have already lost.
Then came the junior girls — and this was the real drama. Gargi Saikia gave Assam the lead winning her singles. Then Bhabishya Changmai and Abhika Borgohain lost the doubles. 1-1. It all came down to one 15-year-old — Naimikha Saikia — in the decisive third match. In team badminton, the third match is the loneliest place in the world. Your entire state is watching one court. Naimikha won. Assam beat Mizoram 2-1. Gold number two.

Afternoon: The Seniors Take Over
If the morning belonged to the future, the afternoon belonged to the present. Men's final: Assam vs Manipur. Best-of-five. Manipur is traditionally the toughest opponent for Assam in the Northeast — fast, attacking, fearless. And Manipur drew first blood. Shubhankar Dutta lost the first singles. For a moment, the Assam bench was silent. Then the comeback — the kind that champions script. Tanmay Bikash Baruah, calm, solid, equalised. Arijit Chaliha, with his deceptive wrist, gave Assam the 2-1 lead. And then the doubles — Suraj Goala and Swarnaraj Bora — who have played together since they were 12 in Guwahati's Kanaklata Indoor Stadium — finished it, 3-1. Assam men zonal champions. Last night, they had beaten Mizoram in the semis. Today, Manipur. Two completely different styles, same result.
The women's final was less drama, more dominance. Mizoram vs Assam. Assam fielded its trump card — Ashmita Chaliha. Ashmita is to Northeast women's badminton what Lovlina Borgohain is to boxing — the face, the fighter, the one who has been to Commonwealth Games. She won her singles. Mayuri Barman won hers. Then Ashmita came back with Manali Bora to win the doubles too, 3-0. Clinical. Gold number four. They had beaten Arunachal last night in the semis. Today, Mizoram in the final.

Why This Sweep Matters
On the surface, it is four gold medals. But dig deeper. For years, Northeast badminton was fragmented. Manipur won men, Mizoram won women, Assam won juniors. No state could dominate all four. Assam's sweep in Shillong shows three things:

1. Depth: Assam could win even when Shubhankar lost first match. It could win when its girls' doubles lost. That means Assam is no longer dependent on one star. It has a second line.
2. System : The junior boys winning 2-0 in 57 minutes with a World Junior Champion in the team is not luck. Bornil Aakash Changmai trains at the Assam Badminton Academy in Guwahati under Indonesian coaches. Gargi, Bhabishya, Naimikha — all products of the same system. The same system that produced Ashmita.
3. The National Games Ticket: This is the biggest prize. By winning senior men and women, Assam will now wear the "North-East" badge at the National Games 2027 team events. In 2025, Assam women had won bronze at National Games. In 2027, they will go as Northeast No.1. After the team finals, Yonex-Sunrise officials confirmed that individual events — men's and women's singles, doubles, mixed, and boys' and girls' singles, doubles, mixed — will continue till September 19 at the same venue. But the story of Shillong 2026 is already written. In one day, on one wooden floor, Assam came, saw, and took everything that was on the table. Four finals. Four gold. One state. In Shillong's cold September, Assam badminton just got very hot.

(Kulapradip Bhagawati is a prominent senior sports journalist from Assam, recognized as the first journalist from Northeast India to cover three major global sports events: the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, and the Cricket World Cup.)