Aakarshi beats Kavipriya to win Yonex Sunrise All India Junior (U-19) tournament

New Delhi, May 27 - India's top ranked player (u-19) Aakarshi Kashyap lived upto her top billing as she walloped S. Kavipriya to win the girls' singles title of the Yonex Sunrise All India Junior ranking badminton tournament played today at the Mohan's Badminton Academy, Tirupur, Tamil Nadu on Sunday. The Chattisgarh shuttler who came into the tournament as the top seeded shuttler was at her dominating best and got off to a flying start winning the opening game 21-8 quite comfortably. After the change of ends, she started from where she left as she blitzed to seal the second game 21-11 to win the match in just 36 minutes and clinch the title in style. The tournament holds great significance for the participating shuttlers as it not only gives them a chance to assert their supremacy in the junior domestic circuit but also because the event was organised especially to select players for the Junior Asian Team Championship 2018 slated to be held in Indonesia in July. The winners in the singles category got richer by Rs 39,000, while the winners in the doubles category were awarded prize money of Rs 41,000. The Badminton Association of India also gave away a total of Rs 4 lakhs to the players who qualified for the knock-out stages of the tournament. "I am quite happy with the way the players have performed here and very impressed with the standard of play. I would like to congratulate the winners and all the participating youngsters in the tournament. We had our selectors watching over their play in the past few days and I am quite sure the best will be representing at the premier Asian event" Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, President of BAI said at the side lines of the tournament in Tirupur. "There have been quite a few youngsters who have been consistently doing well and few promising ones with the desired spark. We wanted to see all of them perform at a level playing field and that is why this Junior Ranking tournament was organised. We have seen the players perform first hand and this will help us to select the best Indian Team for the prestigious Asian Championship, said BAI General Secretary, Ajay K Singhania. In the boys' singles final,Priyanshu Rajawat of Madhya Pradesh scored an upset victory over fifth seeded Kiran George of Kerala to win title. Priyanshu, who started as an underdog in the match won the opening game 21-14 to set the tone. However, the Kerala lad bounced back in the second game and won it 21-19 to take the match into the decider. In the final game, it was Priyanshu who took the lead initially. But George showed great grit and determination to stay in the contest however the MP player held on to his lead as he went to wrap up the game 21-16 to win the match and annexe the title. Earlier in the opening match of the day, the duo of Shri Krishna Sai Podile/Sristhi Jupudi registered a hard-fought 21-17,21-16 victory over the pair of Edwin Joy /Nafeesah Sara Siraj in 35 minutes to win the mixed doubles title. Indian No 1 (U-19) and Mumbai shuttler Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker of Nagpur beat Sristhi Jupudi and Preethi.K  21-16,21-16  in 45 minutes to win the Girls Doubles match. In order to witness the Junior Champions in action, Junior Chief Coach Sanjay Mishra and the Junior Selectors have been accompanied by top BAI officials including Omar Rashid, (Secretary Events); K.C.P.Choudary, (Vice President, BAI). The Tamil Nadu Secretary B.E Arunachallam and the Organizing Secretary, Mohan Kumar and BAI President, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma were also present to witness the live action. Results  1) (XD)Shri Krishna Sai Podile [1]/Sristhi Jupudi bt Edwin Joy /Nafeesah Sara Siraj - 21-17, 21-16 2) (GS) Aakarshi Kashyap (1) bt S.Kavipriya - 21-8, 21-11  3) (BS) Priyanshu Rajawat bt Kiran George (5)- 21-14, 19-21, 21-16  4) (GD) Simran Singhi/Ritika Thaker bt Sristhi Jupudi/Preethi.K - 21-16,21-16  5) (BD) Vishnuvardhan Goud P. (1)/ Shri Krishna Sai Podile vs Manjit Singh Khwairakpam/Dingku Sing Konthoujam - 21-13, 21-18