Junior National Badminton Championships: Aakarshi Kashyap wins titles in U-17 and U-19 categories

Promising shuttler Aakarshi Kashyap lived up to her billing as she secured double crown at the 42nd Junior National Badminton Championships 2017 that concluded in Guwahati, Assam on Monday. The 16-year-old, touted to be a next generation star, won the girls’ singles title in both the under-17 and the under-19 sections at this tournament.

Kashyap was the top seed in both the categories but was made to work hard in the U-17 final by the second seeded Malvika Bansod. The latter grabbed a tightly-contested opening game only to see Kashyap come storming back for a 21-23, 21-17, 21-12 win in 1 hour 5 minutes to defend the title she won last year.

That marathon could not do any harm to Kashyap’s chances of a double delight. The youngster showed exceptional fitness and endurance to pull off a 22-20, 21-11 win over the eighth seeded Vaidehi Choudhari in the U-19 final.

The teen, who hails from Bhilai, did not drop a game all through her campaign in the U-19 section, while in U-17, she conceded two games. The youngster’s stamina is admirable considering she played 12 matches in just 5 days.

Mithula and Vishnuvardhan also had double delight

Kashyap was not the only shuttler to win two titles. 17-year-old Mithula UK too achieved the feat after finding success in both the girls’ doubles U-19 and the mixed doubles U-19 sections. Mithula teamed up with Rutaparna Panda to beat Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker, 21-14, 21-13 in the former. In mixed, she and Krishna Prasad Garaga, seeded fifth, toppled the top seeds Sri Krishna Sai Kumar Podile and Rutaparna Panda, 23-21, 21-18 in 45 minutes.

Young doubles ace Vishnuvardhan Goud too joined them as the third shuttler to win two titles. He and Navaneeth Bokka, seeded second, powered past the sixth seeds Dhruv Rawat and Aakash Yadav 21-14, 21-13 to emerge victorious in boys’ doubles U-17. He managed to taste success in boys’ doubles U-19 too where he and Sri Krishna Sai Kumar Podile beat the second seeds Sanjai Srivatsa and Siddarth Elango, 21-16, 21-19.

In boys’ singles U-17, the fourth seeded Maisnam Meiraba beat the third seeded Amit Rathore, 21-13, 21-10. In boys’ singles U-19, the second seeded Aryamann Tandon ended the giant-killing run of the sixth seeded Rahul Bhardhvaj with a narrow 10-21, 21-18, 21-19 win that took 1 hour 8 minutes.

The latter had stunned the top seeded Arintap Dasgupta in the semi-finals on Sunday.

The girls’ doubles title in the U-17 category went to the fifth seeds Trisha Hegde and Drithi Yatheesh, who held their nerves for a thrilling 19-21, 21-15, 22-20 win.