India’s Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy defeated Vivien Sandorhazi of Hungary 21-19, 17-21, 21-12 to clinch the women’s singles title at the Belgian Junior Open.
Ranked 13th in the world junior rankings, Reddy was up against someone ranked one spot below her. The 15-year-old Indian narrowly took the first game after the two players matched each other shot for shot. It was only at the fag end of the game that Reddy got the upper hand.
Sandorhazi did not let the pressure up her in the second game despite the early setback. Reddy could not ride on the momentum and conceded the game after struggling to keep pace with her opponent, who seemed to have just enough energy to edge the Indian.
The Indian came back strong in the third. Her opponent was on the backfoot early on and struggled to win points. Reddy ran away with an early lead and never let it slip as she sauntered to a comfortable end to an otherwise tough match.
Reddy had recently withdrawn from India’s squad for the badminton junior world championships in Indonesia in October after being asked to play doubles instead of her preferred singles.
Reddy was not one of the four players picked by India to play in the women’s singles category at the worlds and was instead put in the doubles squad by India’s selection committee.
K Maneesha, Arathi Sara Sunil win silver at Polish International
Maneesha K and Arathi Sara Sunil finished runner’s-up in the women’s doubles category after losing 21-19, 24-22 to Jenny Moore and Victoria Williams of England in the final.
They had earlier posted two consecutive wins in the quarter-final and semi-final matches in Bierun on Saturday.
In the quarter-final, Maneesha and Arathi comprehensively defeated the Czech team of Magdalena Lajdova and Denisa Sikalova 21-5, 21-16. In the penultimate round, the Indian duo got past the Polish pairing of Kornelia Marczak and Magdalena Witek, 21-12, 21-13.
On Saturday, Daniel S Farid’s defeat in the quarter-final. The twenty-year-old put up a tough fight against the third-seeeded Malaysian Lee Zii Jia before the latter claimed a 21-19, 18-21, 21-6 win.
Arjun-Shlok win in Ethiopia
At Ethiopia International, top seeded men’s doubles pair of Arjun MR and Ramchandran Shlok won 21-6, 21-19 against Jordanian pair of Bahaedeen Ahmad Alshannik and Mohd Naser Mansour in the finals at the Ethiopian Youth Academy Gymnasium Hall to clinch the title.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!