India’s Raksha Kandasamy finished as runner-up at the inaugural edition of the All England Junior Badminton Championships in Birmingham on Sunday.
Second seed Raksha lost 21-19, 12-21, 11-21 to top seed Jackie Dent of Canada in the summit clash which lasted 42 minutes.
The 15-year-old Raksha, who hails from Navi Mumbai but trains in Hyderabad, began her campaign with straight-games win over Welsh player Ishasriya Mekala before defeating compatriot Taarini Suri in the same fashion in the round of 16.
In the quarterfinals, Raksha saved eight match points before taking down seventh-seeded American Ella Lin 12-21, 24-22, 21-17. In the semifinals too, she was on the brink of elimination but managed to save four match points and beat third-seeded Italian Gianna Stiglich 21-13, 16-21, 25-23.
Another Indian, Naishaa Kaur Bhatoye, reached the semifinals before losing to Dent.
In mixed doubles, Taarini and her English partner Dillon Chong lost in the summit clash.
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