Varun Kapur wins Under-19 title at Lithuanian Junior meet

PUNE: Top seed Varun Kapur from Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy (NKBA) defeated second seeded Slovakian Andrej Antoska 21-17, 21-19 to win the Under-19 Boys title at the RSL Lithuanian Junior 2019, which concluded at Klaipeda, Lithuania on Sunday.

Continuing with his fine form, Varun looked determined and displayed a good game as he prevailed over his second seeded opponent in a 31 minute encounter.

Earlier in the semifinals, Varun defeated No 4 seed Hans-Kristjan Pilve from Estonia 21-14, 21-16.

“I learnt a lot from each round in this tournament and enjoyed each match here. I would love to come back and play over here sometime in the future,” said Varun about his performance.

“The final was a close match and both of us had to be patient throughout the match. I am happy to come out on top. My opponent from Slovakia was tall and had a strong hit from the back . I tried to keep moving him around to all corners and be patient,” Varun added.

His coach Nikhil Kanetkar was also happy with his ward’s performance.

“I think Varun is maturing well. Five Junior International Under-19 Titles at 16 is very good and he is able to handle the pressure well as most kids are a year or two older to him. He needs to keep working hard and keep striving to do better and better over the years to come,” said Kanetkar.

PURVA WINS STATE TITLE IN PARBHANI
Top seeded Purva Barve from NKBA kept the academy flag flying high, back home as she defeated second seeded Neha Pandit 21-11, 21-19 to clinch the title in the Women’s Singles category of the Maharashtra State Badminton Championships, which was held in Parbhani.

Purva who has had an impressive outing in Parbhani kept the show going as she got past seasoned player Neha who has a lot of experience and is also a senior player to Purva.

RESULTS
Varun Kapur at RSL Lithuanian Junior 2019
Final: 1-Varun Kapur bt 2-Andrej Antoska (Svk) 21-17, 21-19.
Purva Barve at Maharashtra State Championships
Final: 1-Purva Barve bt 2-Neha Pandit 21-11, 21-19