Paddler Archana Girish Kamath qualifies for Youth Olympics
Paddler Archana Girish Kamath registered a 4-1 (11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8) win over Malaysian Chang Alice Li Sian in the Oceania leg of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games qualiying series here.
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Rarotonga: Paddler Archana Girish Kamath registered a 4-1 (11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8) win over Malaysian Chang Alice Li Sian in the Oceania leg of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games qualiying series here.
Archana, who arrived here on Wednesday after a 36-hour journey with long layovers-from Bengaluru to Dubai and Auckland to destination in the Cook Islands, put behind her weariness and concentrated on the job at hand, quickly going for a practice session, with chief coach Massimo Costantini in toe, on the evening soon after landing.
The top-seeded India had a first-round bye but in the second round it was tough against the Philippines` Jannah Maryam Romeron, who not only went ahead with a 2-0 lead but also posed a lot of problems for Archana.
However, the determined Indian won the crucial third game with a minimal margin and the next on extended points to restore parity.
From there, it was a confident Archana who thumped her rival from the Philippines to enter the semifinals with a 11-13, 8-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-7, 11-3.
In the semi-finals, it was an easy affair for the world No. 12 as she beat Iran`s Mahshid Ashtari 11-2, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 and in the final, a cautious Archana dropped just one game before overpowering her Malaysian opponent 4-1 to seal her berth.
"I am really happy for Archana," said Costantini in an official release. "It was worth the trip to Cook Islands," the Italian added.
In the men`s singles, Manav Thakkar has already qualified for the Games to be held in October.
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