Indian shuttler Raksha Kandasamy wins Italian Junior singles title

Indian shuttler Raksha Kandasamy maintained her dominant run to clinch the Italian Junior singles title, defeating compatriot Ananya Agrawal in the final 21-14, 21-12.

Raksha had an impeccable run in the tournament held in Milan, Italy, from February 23-25, as she did not drop a single game through the course of the competition from the round of 64 to lift the title.

In the semifinal, Raksha had produced another one-sided effort, getting the better of Indian player Prakriti Bharat 21-10, 21-8. In the quarterfinals, Raksha defeated Slovenia’s Anja Blazina 21-9, 21-14.

“This win is really motivating, and I am really happy with how my game has developed over the last few months,” said Raksha, who won the silver medal in All England Junior Open Championships last year.

“This performance has been really boosting, and I am looking forward to competing in many more tournaments here in Europe this year,” she added.

The 17-year-old shuttler from Mumbai, who is studying in 11th standard, will remain in Europe to participate in a few more events with the aim of making it to World Juniors.

“I believe in staying focused, working on my physical fitness as I have been doing for the last 2-3 months and being patient and trusting the process to achieve my goals,” said Raksha, who also won gold medals at Cyprus Junior International Series Tournament and Bulgarian Junior Open Championships last year.

“Next up are a couple of senior international tournaments here itself in Europe, and my main target for this year is to compete in the World Juniors,” Raksha added.