Aakarshi grabs grand double, Lakshya wins

 Aakarshi Kashyap completed a grand double as she won the girls’ under-17 and under-19 singles’ titles at the 15th All-India junior ranking badminton tournament at Karnataka State Badminton Association here on Sunday.

After her giant killing on Saturday, where she upset top seeded Shikha Gautam, Aakarshi pulled off a superb comeback to topple third seed Shriyanshi Pardeshi 6-21, 21-18, 21-11 in the under-19 category.

The 14-year-old from Chhattisgarh had a relatively easier time in the under-17 final as she downed Maharashtra’s Purva Barve 21-18, 21-16.

In a clash of siblings, 15-year-old Lakshya Sen capitalised on an injury to his top seeded brother Chirag Sen to triumph in the boys’ under-19 singles final.

A visibly distressed Chirag went down meekly to his younger sibling 14-21, 18-21.
Speaking after his win, Lakshya explained that he came out with a gameplan to engage Chirag in rallies since he was injured. “He (Chirag) was carrying an injury and I knew he couldn’t play long rallies so I tried to keep it that way and it paid off,” he said.

Lakshya also added that it was different when he plays against his brother. “I try to treat him like just another opponent but it’s hard. Something stops me from going all out.”

Karnataka’s Rahul Bhardhvaj put up a fight before submitting to Kerala’s Kiran George 21-18, 21-16 in the boys’ under-17 singles final.

Ashwini Bhat and Mithula UK continued to dominate in the under-17 girls doubles circuit as they breezed to a 21-14, 21-14 victory over Telangana’s Keyura Mopati and Kavipriya S of Puducherry.

Both girls dominated from the start and pushed their opponents into making a host of unforced errors before shutting out the game with composure. But the Karnataka girls couldn’t complete a double as they were drubbed by State-mates Mahima Aggarwal and Shikha Gautam 21-8, 21-10 in the under-19 doubles final.

Results: Boys: Under-19: Singles: Final: Lakshya Sen (Utr) bt Chirag Sen (AI) 21-14, 21-18.

Semifinal: Lakshya Sen (Utr) bt Mithun M (AI) 21-15, 21-14; Chirag Sen (AI) bt Bodhit Joshi (Utr) 21-16, 19-21, 21-19.

Doubles: Final: Bodhit Joshi (Utr)/ Mithun M (AI) bt Swarnaraj Bora (Asm)/Kaustubh Rawat (Utr) 21-12, 21-12.

Under-17: Singles: Final: Kiran George (Ker) bt Rahul Bhardhvaj 21-18, 21-16.
Semifinal: Kiran Geroge (Ker) bt Katikey Gulshan Kumar (AI) 25-23, 21-14; Rahul Bhardhvaj (Kar) bt Jagadeesh K (AP) 22-20, 15-21, 21-17.

Doubles: Final: M Khwairakpam/D Konthouiam (Mnp) bt Q Mohammed/Vishnuvardhan Goud (Tel) 24-22, 18-21, 21-11.

Girls: Under-19: Singles: Final: Aakarshi Kashyap (Cg) bt Shriyanshi Pardeshi (MP) 21-18, 21-16.

Doubles: Final: Mahima Aggarwal/Shikha Gautam (Kar) bt Ashwini Bhat/Mithula UK (Kar) 21-8, 21-10.

Under-17: Final: Aakarshi Kashyap (Cg) bt Purva Barve (Mah) 21-18, 21-16.
Doubles: Final: Ashwini Bhat/Mithula UK (Kar) bt Keyura Mopati (Tel)/Kavipriya S (Pud) 21-14, 21-14.

Mixed doubles: Under-19: Final: Balraj Kajla/Mithula UK (Kar) bt D Chandra Kumar (UP)/Sonika Sai (AI) 23-21, 21-17.