SportsBadminton
Jagsher Singh Khangurra saves match point to assure India a World Junior medal
The shuttler from Nabha in Punjab came from a game down to beat Chinese Taipei's Yuan-Syue Jhuang in Cairo and reach the boys' singles semi-finals.
Key points
- Jagsher Singh Khangurra won 6-15, 17-15, 15-12 in the quarter-finals.
- He is the ninth Indian boy to reach the singles podium at the World Juniors.
- Shaina Manimuthu lost her girls' singles quarter-final to China's Yi Qing Yin.
Jagsher Singh Khangurra assured India of a medal at the BWF World Junior Championships in Cairo on Thursday, saving a match point on his way to a 6-15, 17-15, 15-12 quarter-final win over Chinese Taipei’s Yuan-Syue Jhuang.
The boy from Nabha in Punjab was swept aside in the first game and stood one point from defeat in the second. He held on to take it 17-15 and then edged a tense decider at the Cairo International Stadium. The match lasted 48 minutes.
“The feeling can’t be expressed by words.”
He said he was now hoping for gold.
Khangurra is the ninth Indian to reach the podium in boys’ singles at the championships. India have won one gold, five silvers and six bronzes in the event’s history, and the only gold belongs to Saina Nehwal, who won the girls’ title in 2008.
The run in Cairo has been a steady climb. Khangurra beat Mauritius’ Pranav Bhaugeerothee and Algeria’s Mohamed Rayane Bouffeniche in the early rounds, Thailand’s 22nd seed Punnatat Prempunpong in the last 32, and Malaysia’s Lee Qian Chong 15-8, 15-8 in the pre-quarter-finals.
He has trained for two years at the Centre for Badminton Excellence in Bengaluru under Sagar Chopda and Muniramu G, and has spoken of learning by watching Lakshya Sen train there. He said he still needs to add power to his game.
His semi-final opponent is Indonesia’s Radithya Bayu Wardhana, with a place in the final at stake.
India’s other quarter-finalist in singles, Shaina Manimuthu, the Asian under-17 silver medallist, lost 5-15, 8-15 to China’s Yi Qing Yin.