Archana Pai bags Girl’s Singles U15 title at Karnataka State Ranking Badminton Tournament
India’s budding shuttler Archana Pai stole the limelight as she played with remarkable precision and grabbed Girl’s Singles U15 title at the Belgaum 3 Star Karnataka State Ranking Badminton Tournament 2012 in India, on Tuesday, September 4.
The lofty Archana proved her mettle in the final contest when she outplayed her higher ranked challenger Apeksha Nayak by playing planned and positive badminton.
The impressive Archana, who was the second seeded shuttler in main draw of the tournament, continued her winning streak in the title match and outplayed Apeksha who was the top seeded player in the event.
The lower ranked Indian shuttler was at her best on court as she played with confidence and remained successful in showing exit to her rival in straight sets while working hard for 50 minutes.
On the other hand, the higher ranked Apeksha remained unable to prove her worth as she could not create pressure on her lower ranked challenger and eventually went down in two sets with a respectable margin on the board.
In the first game, both shuttlers entertained the local fans by playing to their maximum potential and snapped each other’s heel at the opening stage.
However, the second seeded Archana started to dictate the pace of rallies and remained successful in getting a strong position until the end of opening half.
After the mid-game interval, the top seeded Apeksha tried to put up strong show by increasing her speed but she failed to play dominating badminton and remained struggling behind on score board.
In the meanwhile, the impressive Archana showed consistency in her positive and composed play and took the opening game in a commanding fashion by a 21-17 score on the board.
The second game was also thrilling as both players again remained neck-to-neck until the end of opening half.
However, after the mid-game interval, the incredible Archana displayed her fabulous skills on court and she managed a reasonable lead at the concluding stage.
The underdog Archana played safe badminton and took the second set with a three-point margin of 21-18.
The spirited Archana grabbed the title after beating Apeksha in the final battle with an overall 21-17 and 21-18 score on the board.
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