Indian Shuttler Sankar Muthusamy Finishes Off With Silver At BWF World Junior Championships

India's Sankar Muthusamy finished with a silver medal after losing to Chinese Taipei's Kuo Kuan Lin in the men's singles final in straight games on Sunday at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Junior Championships in Spain.

The 18-year-old from Tamil Nadu fell fighting 14-21 20-22 to Lin in a 48-minute summit clash. Thus, the former world junior number one joined fellow Indians in winning a silver at the prestigious tournament -- Aparna Popat (1996), Saina Nehwal (2006) and Siril Verma (2015).

Game Highlights

Only the second male shuttler from India to make it to the final, Sankar's defence could not withstand the unceasingly intense attacks of the Taiwanese, who relied on his power to worry the Indian, as reported by NDTV.

Kuan Lin took advantage of the weak returns of his opponent and unleashed some devastating jump smashes to conquer the rallies. The fourth-seeded Shankar continued battling, and despite saving six match points, he had to settle for second place.

The left-handed Indian looked to play his retrieval game, but the Taiwanese was quicker and was able to find the gaps with his steep returns. Taipei soon marched to an 11-9 lead as a consequence.

Sankar attempted to engage his rival in rallies. It sort of worked to some extent, as he managed to pull parity at 13-13 after engaging Lin in a net duel. However, the Indian made just a few unforced errors, Kuan Lin's jump smashes provided him with a 20–14 lead, and the Taiwanese won when Sankar went long once again.

Kuan Lin Continued To Dominate After Switch Of Sides

Following the switch of sides, Lin maintained his 4-0 advantage by dominating the proceeding with his power game. The Chennai shuttler, however, managed to claw back at 5-5.

Lagging 7-10, Sankar produced a powerful smash to exhibit the first real signs of dominance, but Lin was able to eke out a two-point cushion at the interval. The Indian attempted to keep the shuttle in play for as long as possible to wear out his opponent, but Taipei was constantly one step ahead, landing his smashes precisely.

Eventually, Kuan Lin secured six match points, but Sankar produced a remarkable comeback, saving all six. However, the Taiwanese secured the victory with a sharp reply after earning another match point with another smash.

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