India’s junior shuttlers shine as they win 3 gold medals at Dubai Junior International Series 2019

New Delhi, September 15: India’s junior shuttlers made merry as Tasnim Mir won the girls’ singles title while the mixed doubles pair of Ayan Rashid- Mir & the girls’ doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto-Aditi Bhatt triumphed as well at the Dubai Junior International Series 2019 on Sunday. In addition, the junior brigade added three silver medals to finish their campaign on a high with a rich haul of six medals.

Gujarat’s Tasnim Mir put up a superb display in the final to upset the second seed Treesa Jolly 21-15, 21-19 to grab the girls’ singles title. Mir tasted double glory when she teamed up with Assam’s Ayan Rashid in mixed doubles.

The Indian combine did not have it easy against Indonesia’s Galuh Dwi Putra and UAE’s Zainaba Siraj and had to dig deep to secure the victory. In a close contest, the pair got the better of their opponents in a 21-16, 22-24, 21-19 win. The two carried on their success from the Yonex Sunrise All India Sub-junior (U-15 and U-17) Ranking Badminton Tournament held in Imphal in July, where they had finished on the top podium.

In girls’ doubles, top seeds Aditi Bhatt and Tanisha Crasto continued their impeccable run as they crushed second seeds Treesa Jolly and Varshini Sri 21-17, 21-17 to win the gold in an all-India summit clash. The Goa-Uttarakhand pairing has been performing brilliantly this year and even clinched back-to-back wins in the two ranking selection tournaments to confirm their berth in the BWF World Junior Championship 2019 squad.

The only disappointment for India was in boys’ singles, where top seed Varun Kapur had to settle for a silver after losing to 2nd seed Prince Dahal of Nepal, 19-21, 19-21.

On a Super Sunday for India, it was not just the juniors who brought gold, but the seniors pitched in as well. Three-time national champion Sourabh Verma recovered from a second-game slump to defeat China’s Sun Fei Xiang 21 -12, 17 -21, 21 – 14 to add to the titles he won at the Hyderabad Open and Slovenian International.

Also contributing to the gold rush was Kaushal Dharmamer, who was seeded third at the Myanmar International Series 2019. Kaushal made a quick comeback after losing the first game to record an 18 – 21, 21 – 14, 21-11 victory against Indonesia’s Karono Karono to win the title.