Aakarshi Kashyap overcomes Malvika Bansod to clinch India Junior International title
16-year-old shuttler Aakarshi Kashyap has defeated Malvika Bansod 21-13 21-19 in a final that lasted for 37 minutes, to win the India Junior International title in Pune on Sunday. After the win, Kashyap has reaffirmed her position as one of the most promising upcoming shuttlers in the country.
While the summit clash was a pretty straightforward affair for Kashyap, the road to the final was not smooth. Her first-round match against Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani went down to the wire, lasting 65 minutes before she won 21-19, 13-21, 21-16. Her second match, however, was a lot easier where she beat Thailand’s Pornpicha Choeikeeowong 21-14, 21-5.
It was followed by yet another straightforward quarter-final win against compatriot Unnati Bisht, where she won 23-21, 21-14. However, her easy run ended there as she was up against the fifth-seeded Qi Xuan
Apart from the women’s title clash, all other finals of the India Junior International were contested by Indonesian players. Top seed Ikhsan Leonardo
On the other hand, Leo Rolly