Pune: Purva Barve of India registered a rare feat by winning back-to-back titles after annexing the women’s singles title in the Yonex-Italian Junior 2017 held at the Pala Badminton, Milan, Italy.
The title was her second and came on the back of winning her maiden title at the Israel Open 2017 last week.
In the final, the Pune-based Nikhil Kanetkar Badminton Academy (NKBA) cadet made short work of unseeded Elena Andreu of Spain in straight games 21-9, 21-9 in a match lasting 21 minutes.
In a dominating final, Purva began the first game by racing to an 8-1 lead after losing the first point on serve. The Spaniard fought back, cut the lead to 8-12, however that was all that Elena could do and could only add another before losing out the game.
The second game was almost similar. Purva up 5-1 extended the ead to 11-3 and gradually built upon her unforced-error-ridden opponent to walk out winner.
Ranked No. 51 in the world, Purva, the No. 5 seed thus extended her unbeaten record to 12 matches without losing a single game in her European sojourn.
Purva said; “After winning in Israel, I had set my aim on reaching the final here (Italy) as well… The rest is belief. Nikhil sir has supported me all the time. He told me to stay focused and to play positive and believe in myself.”
At Milan, Purva made her run memorable accounting for world No. 33 Maria Delcheva of Bulgaria in the quarterfinals. Her straight game 21-13, 21-19 victory over No.2 seed Maria was her career best.
Having played Maria for the first time, Purva said; “I feel rankings don’t matter and that’s because in the end the one who is best on court is going to win. Maria is a good and strong player.”
En route her second title, Purva was on a high and carried on her wining momentum outclassing all opponents. She began putting out Martina Corsini (Italy) 21-6, 21-7, then Spain’s Laura Santos 21-8, 21-9 in Round 3.
In the last-8 she downed Maria in a 30-minute dual, the longest she played and then went on to make short work of World No.283 Clara Cotte (France) 21-4, 21-6 in a 16-minute dual which was her shortest!
Purva added, “For me the secret of winning is to play whatever you have got; deliver everything strong from within and to be able to deal with any condition on and off the court.”
NKBA Director and Head Coach Nikhil Kanetkar, said: “I am proud for Purva’s achievement she kept her focus and went in to achieve. Back to back titlesis a big feat and full credit to Purva. For the academy, this is a dream come true for all the hard work that is being put in to groom champions.”
RESULTS
Fs: Elena Andrew (Esp) 21-9, 21-9 21 min
SF: Clara Cotte (Fra) 21-4, 21-6 16 min
QF: b 2-Maria Delcheva (Bul) 21-13, 21-19 30 min
R3: b Laura Santos (Esp) 21-8, 21-9 19 min
R2: b Martina Corsini (Ita) 21-6, 21-7 17 min
R1: Bye
