Manav Thakkar adds singles gold in Slovenia junior TT meet

Indias Manav Thakkar raised the bar yet again when he beat Japanese Takeru Kashiwa 11-6, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 in the final to win the junior boys singles gold in the Slovenia Junior and Cadet Open here.

Thakkar on Sunday night not only claimed the singles crown but also emerged as the most successful player from the tournament, having won the doubles gold and silver in the team event earlier.

The second-seeded Indian was in no mood to relent in the final and beat the 15th seeded Japanese, who had earlier accounted for India's Parth Virmani in the quarter-finals, without conceding a game.

Incidentally, the Japanese had upset Chinese Taipei's top-seeded Feng Yi-Hsin 11-7, 11-9, 9-11, 3-11, 13-11, 4-11, 11-9 in a tough semi-final.

A completely drained out Japanese was ill at ease in the final against Manav who attacked right from the word go as he inched closer to taking a firm grip on the gold medal.

Considering his silver-winning effort in the Thailand Open earlier this year, the outing in Slovenia Open has proved to be a great success for the 17-year-old boy from Surat.

Thakkar earlier beat sixth seed Tai Ming-Wei 11-5, 11-4, 10-12, 11-7, 13-11 in the quarter-final before overcoming ninth seed Egyptian Youssef Abdel-Aziz 11-4, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in the semis.

--IANS

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