Shikha Gautam knocks out Meghana Kulkarni in quarter-final of State Ranking Badminton Tournament
Shikha Gautam, a young player from India, proved her craft on court in the Girl’s Singles U17 quarter-final encounter when she knocked out her higher ranked country-mate Meghana Kulkarni at the Udupi 5 Star State Ranking Badminton Tournament on Tuesday,
July 10, at Udupi, India.
Shikha, who is seventh seeded player in Girl’s Singles main draw, put up spectacular show of aggressive and positive badminton and easily thrashed Meghana who was the third seed in the tournament.
The lower ranked Shikha was in full swing as she played to her maximum speed and punished her team-mate in a sensational manner as she ended up the match in two sets with a striking margin.
In the meanwhile, the third seeded Meghana failed to continue her smooth sailing in the tournament as she showed no resistance against Shikha and lost the battle without creating a strong impact on court.
The seventh seeded Shikha started her run impressively as she did not take much time in taking a strong position on the board.
The higher ranked Meghana got nervous in opening rallies as her strokes landed long from the base line and she also failed to control the bird at net. She remained trailing behind Shikha until the one-minute break.
After the interval, Shikha continued her stunning performance on court and easily got advantage by winning the first set with a huge difference of 21-13.
In the second game, Meghana tried to live up to expectations by playing aggressive badminton in opening rallies but failed to shake the rhythm of her lower ranked rival who was impressive in her speed and court coverage.
Shikha, on the other hand, was calm and collected on court and she managed a comfortable gap until the mid-game interval.
After the one-minute break, Shikha increased her speed at net and manipulated all loopholes of Meghana who almost gave up fighting against her spirited opponent.
The in-form Shikha remained on track at the ending stage and wrapped up the game in a spectacular fashion by ending it up with a huge difference of 21-12.
Shikha won this battle easily in two games with a fabulous 21-13 and 21-12 margin on the score board.
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