City shuttler Lakshay Sharma clinched two gold medals at the All India Inter-Institutional Badminton Team and Individual Championship 2026, winning both the team and men’s singles titles in the tournament held in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.Lakshay Sharma wins team and men’s singles titles. (HT PHOTO)Representing the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the 20-year-old played a pivotal role in his team’s title-winning campaign. AAI registered commanding 3-0 victories over the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in the quarter-finals, India Post in the semi-finals and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the final to lift the team championship.Lakshay also emerged champion in the men’s singles event after an impressive run through the knockout stage. He defeated Sidhartha Jharkar of LIC 21-11, 21-16 in the quarter-finals and Amit Sharma of India Post 21-13, 21-16 in the semi-finals.In the final, Lakshay overcame a slow start against his AAI teammate Laksh Chengappa. After dropping the opening game 17-21, he levelled the contest by taking the second game 21-19 before Chengappa retired while trailing 2-5 in the decider, handing Lakshay the title.Organised by the Airports Authority of India under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India, the championship featured leading institutional teams, including RBI, LIC, ESIC, Food Corporation of India (FCI), India Post, the Indian Air Force and AAI.With victories in both the team and men’s singles events, Lakshay has qualified to represent AAI at the National Championship, scheduled to be held in December, where he will compete in both categories.A final-year BA student at Chandigarh University, Lakshay trains under the guidance of his father, Mangat Rai Sharma, an NIS-qualified national badminton coach.