LAKSHYA LOSES IN SEMIS, GETS BRONZE MEDAL

NEW DELHI: India’s Lakshya Sen settled for a bronze medal at the World Junior Badminton Championship after losing to top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the men’s singles semi-finals here. Lakshya, who had won the Asian Junior Championship this year, played his heart out before going down 22-20, 16-21, 13-21 to Vitidsarn in a game that lasted an hour and 11 minutes on Saturday.

“I could not get into my usual rhythm, though I managed to win the first game,” said Lakshya, who was the last Indian hope in the showpiece event. “But he (Kunlavut) was too strong in the second. I could not play to my strong points and my opponent had all answers to my strokes.”

The 17-year-old from Almora began well but in what was touchand-go opening game; Lakshya seized the opportunity and went 1-0 up. But Vitidsarn came back strongly in the second game to keep his chances alive.

The Indian was unable to gather himself in the decider as the Thai took a good lead and maintained it to secure a place in the final. Prior to this loss, Lakshya had only dropped one game throughout the tournament — to Chinese Taipei’s Shiau Cheng Chen — but couldn’t continue his winning run. Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to have won gold in the tournament during the 2008 Pune edition.

OKUHARA WINS

HONGKONG: Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara said her triumph over a determined Ratchanok Intanon in Sunday’s Hong Kong Open final is a massive confidence boost ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Both players were hungry for the win, drawing level 13 times in the second game before the sixth-ranked Okuhara beat the Thai, a former world champion, 21-19, 24-22 in 64 minutes.

Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi — India’s top two singles players — combined well to win their maiden title on the WTA Tour, grabbing the doubles trophy at the $125,000 Taipei OEC Open, on Sunday.

Playing first time together on the Pro circuit, the Indians clinched the title when Russia’s Olga Doroshina and Natela Dzalamidze opted out of edge-of-seat contest due to latter’s injury. The match was on even keel with both the pairs splitting the first two sets. The Indians had won the first set 6-4 but lost the second 5-7. The super tie breaker was tied 12-12 when Natela fell and suffered a hamstring injury. She struggled to even walk and they were forced to retire.

SONA POLO WIN TITLE

NEWDELHI: Sona Polo defeated LA Pegasus Polo 12-7 to lift the Sir Pratap Singh Cup (14-goal) at the Jaipur Polo Ground here on Sunday. It was a one-sided match. Result: Sona Polo 12 (G Mazzini 6, SP