Bangkok, June 9: Indian badminton welcomed its newest star as a little-known K Srikanth lifted his maiden men’s singles title with a stunning straight-game triumph over world number eight and top-seeded local favourite Boonsak Ponsana at the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold here today.
The 20-year-old from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh beat Ponsana 21-16 21-12 in a 34-minute match to script the biggest win of his still nascent career.
The 13th-seeded Indian matched his fancied rival in all departments of the game in what turned out to be a lop-sided contest.
The first game went neck and neck before Srikanth broke free after being locked 15-15. He notched up six consecutive points to win the game.
The second game was a completely one-sided affair with Srikanth scoring with ease. The Indian sent down nine smashes against his rival’s three to stamp his authority in the match.
Ponsana had a two-point lead to start with Srikanth made amends quite quickly to reel off eight successive points and seal the game and the match in his favour.
Srikanth had previously reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Junior Championships and entered the prequarterfinals of the World Junior Championships in 2011. (PTI)
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