Ludhiana’s Lakshay Sharma bags bronze at U-19 national badminton tournament

A student at Sacred Heart Convent School, Ludhiana, Lakshay Sharma went down in the semifinal of the All India Junior U-19 National Ranking Badminton Tournament Darshan Pujari

City-based badminton player Lakshay Sharma on Wednesday bagged the bronze medal at the All India Junior U-19 National Ranking Badminton Tournament held in Bangalore.

Ludhiana’s Lakshay Sharma won the bronze medal at the All India Junior U-19 National Ranking Badminton Tournament. (HT Photo)

A Class XII student at Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, Sharma went down in a nail-biting semifinal to fifth seed Darshan Pujari of Maharashtra Seed 24 -26, 21-23 to settle for bronze.

Principal Sister Veena Dsouza and Punjab Badminton Association secretary Rajinder Singh Kalsi congratulated the youngster on his success.

In the first round of the main draw, Sharma beat Pranav Samala of Telangana in straight games 21-15, 21-12.

He scored another straightforward win over Sai Satya Sarvesh Yakala of Pondicherry, an U-15 national silver medalist in 2018, 21-17, 21-11. Facing a tongher test in the quarterfinal against Satwik Reddy K of Telangana, he raised his level to eke out a 21-17, 21-18 and secure a spot in the medal rounds.

A total of 736 players from across India participated in the U-19 singles category of the tournament.