India paddlers Diya, Swastika confirm medal at WTT Youth Star Contender

Maharashtra duo of Diya and Swastika registered convincing 11-5, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8 victory against the local favourite Fadwa Garci and Maram Zoghlami in the last-8 match in Tunis and secured at least a bronze medal

New Delhi: Young Indian paddlers Diya Chitale and Swastika Ghosh put up solid performances at the 2021 WTT Youth Star Contender in Tunisia as they confirmed a medal in the U-19 girls doubles besides advancing to the knockout stage of the singles category.

The Maharashtra duo of Diya and Swastika, who received a bye in the opening round, registered convincing 11-5, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8 victory against the local favourite Fadwa Garci and Maram Zoghlami in the last-8 match in Tunis, and secured at least a bronze medal with an entry into the semifinals. The Indian pair will take on Czech Republic’s Linda Zaderova and Croatia’s Hana Arapovic in the last-four match.

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On the other hand, the Mumbai paddlers Diya and Swastika also progressed into the U-19 singles last-16 stage after topping their respective groups with an all-win record. The youth national champion, Diya, was dominant during her identical 3-0 victories against Belarusian Darya Vasilenka (11-7, 11-7, 11-7), Linda Zaderova (11-4, 10-12, 11-1, 11-8) and Algeria’s Narimene-Hind Siddeki (11-3, 11-4, 11-7) in Group VI.