Gandhidham : Gujarat’s upcoming paddler Krisha Patel had a grand Diwali celebration as she bagged silver medal in the under-11 girls’ category at the WTT Youth Contender tournament held at the Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex, Cairo, Egypt from Oct. 24 to 30.
After powering through her early-round matches, the 10-year-old Surti showed little sign of nerves as she thrashed local girl Nada Elbadwy 3-0 (13-11, 11-2, 11-8) in the semifinal encounter to storm in the final and assured herself of a medal on her maiden international appearance.
In the final, Krisha’s lack of experience did her in as the southpaw went down to her countrymate Ankolika Chakraborty 0-3 to settle for a silver.
The India no. 2 in the U-11 category, who is currently training at the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board Centre in Sonepat, Haryana, said that even though she missed the gold but is very happy with her performance. “It was my first international tournament and I am glad I am returning with a medal,” she said.
Another Indian who did the nation proud was Pratha Pawar as she too grabbed a silver in the under-13 Girls’ category in Cairo.
In the final, the Ahmedabad paddler went down fighting against Avisha Karmakar of India 2-3 in a close encounter. This is Pratha’s second international medal after she won a bronze at the WTT Youth Contender held in Amman, Jordon in August this year.
