India’s rising table tennis star Mudit Dani underlined his progress in the ITTF World Junior Circuit, sweeping three medals, including a gold, in the 2017 El Salvador Junior and Cadet Open here on Sunday.
Mudit, the lone Indian in the tournament, paired up with Jacobo Vahnish of Panama to overcome the home team, El Salvador A, comprising of Oliver Mendoza and Oscar Villalta in the finals to annex the gold medal in the Team competition.
In the doubles, the second-seeded pair of Mudit and Gerson Carballo of Costa Rica went down fighting to the top-seeded Swedish pair of Oskar Danielsson and Oskar Hedlund 5-11, 6-11, 8-11 to finish second on the podium.
“It has been a wonderful tournament for me. I played against some of the top junior players in the world and these wins give me a lot of confidence going forward,” Mudit said. Mudit featured in the singles as well and made a brilliant run to the semifinals. There he went down to his Team event partner Jacobo 11-6, 11-1, 3-11, 9-11, 9-11 to settle for the bronze.
The 18-year-old Mumbai paddler, who is coached by the Swedish legend Peter Karlsson, has been making waves on the junior circuit, even becoming only the third Indian player to break into the Top-10 in the ITTF World Junior Boys' Circuit standings.