Lakshya-clinches-Bulgarian-Open-Title| Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy

Rahul Bharadwaj's giant killing run came to an end in the finals of the Yonex Sunrise Indian Junior International Grand Prix which concluded in Pune yesterday. Rahul capitulated to the top seed and Junior World No. 2 Kunlavut Vitidsarn rather meekly in straight games 16-21, 11-21. Unseeded Rahul came through two qualifying rounds, winning rather easily against his Chinese and Korean opponents. He had to wage pitched three setters against Alap Mishra (India), second seed Ruttanpak Oupthong (THAILAND) and Academy mate Kiran George in the semis to qualify for the finals. The semi-final match between these friendly foes lasted 64 minutes and Rahul had to save a match point before sealing the win. This result is sure to boost his rankings in the junior circuit ahead of his participation in the World Junior Championships and other junior international events. Obviously, the European experience where Rahul, Kiran and Meiraba, along with Lakshya trained with the French National team for a fortnight, has surely shown commendable results.