Mysuru: Boppanda Diya Bheemaiah and her younger brother Vishal Uthappa have been selected to represent Karnataka in the upcoming National Badminton Tournaments.  

Diya Bheemaiah has been selected to compete in the U-19 Girls’ category at the Junior National Badminton Championship, organised under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) at Paljor Stadium in Sikkim from Nov. 14 to 21. She has also qualified to compete in the Yonex-Sunrise Guwahati Masters 2026 BWF Super 100 from Dec. 1 to Dec. 6 as well as the Senior National Championships scheduled to be held from Dec. 17 to Dec. 24 at the Dalmia Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

A student at Vidyashram College in Mysuru, Diya is currently training at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, Assam.

Meanwhile, Vishal Uthappa, has been selected to represent the State in the U-15 Boys’ category at the 38th Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship-2026. Ranked 3rd in the Sub-Junior Mixed Doubles category in the country, Vishal earned his qualification through consistently strong performances across national ranking tournaments this year. He will also take part in the national-level tournament to be held at the Karnataka Badminton Association in Bengaluru from  Nov. 30 to Dec. 5.

Currently studying at Pragathi Elite Public School, Mysuru, he trains at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad. Vishal was previously coached by Medura Arun Pemmaiah at the Sports Park Academy in Mysuru.

Natives of Kodagu district, both Diya and Vishal are the children of B.B. Bheemaiah, a badminton coach and K.K. Kusuma (Kambiranda), a former international athlete and a fitness coach, who reside at Rajarajeshwarinagar in Mysuru.