Lakshya Sen clinched the Eurasia Bulgarian Open men’s singles title after rallying to a hard-fought win over Croatia’s Zvonimir Durkinjak in the final here on Thursday.
The junior World No.1, who celebrated his 16th birthday on Wednesday, overcame the second seed 18-21, 21-12, 21-17 in a 57-minute match. Lakshya had beaten Sri Lanka’s Dinuka Karunaratna 21-19, 21-14 in the semifinals.
“It is a creditable achievement for Lakshya. He had a good tournament. He beat the top seed Sam Parsons in the first round.
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“He is still a junior but he has been able to win tournaments and that is a good sign.
“We had sent five players on a 10-day training trip with the French national team. He trained under the great Peter Gade and it has benefitted him,” said coach Vimal Kumar.
“So if groomed properly, he does have a great future.
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“In two months time, he will be playing Vietnam Grand Prix and then it would be the junior World championship,” added Vimal.
Last year, the Indian had won the India International Series and clinched a bronze at the CPB Badminton and Sports Science Training Center in Thailand.