SHEFFIELD (UK), Jan 7:
It turned out to be a dream British Junior Open for the Indian boys who swept away the U-19 category in the prestigious meet with a gold, silver and bronze.
It was in the 1970s that Anil Nair won this event first for India and in more recent times country’s leading player Saurav Ghosal.
Velavan Senthilkumar won the coveted Drysdale Cup (becoming only the third Indian to do that) with a 15-13, 11-2, 10-12, 11-7 win over compatriot and unseeded Abhay Singh in a close final. And bringing home added cheer was the bronze medal effort of Adhitya Raghavan.
Only years ago the story of these players was so different. At the Junior National of 2011 for instance – Velavan had finished seventh, Abhay did not qualify for the main draw in the U-15 category while Adhitya was fifth in the U-13.
“A lesson then for upcoming players that working hard with dedication, discipline and devotion do pay dividends,” said national coach Cyrus Poncha. (PTI)
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