K Shrikanth wins maiden international title

K Srikanth with his Maldives
Open medal.

Gopichand Academy trainee K Srikanth won his maiden international title on Sunday when the 19-year-old defeated former junior World and Asian champion Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malaysia 13-21, 21-11, 21-16 in the men's singles final of the Maldives International Challenge in Male.

The seventh seed, who had accounted for second seed Jan Frohlich of Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, required just over an hour to beat Zulfadli, who is considered to be the next big hope of Malaysian badminton.

Srikanth's road to final
First round: Beat Mohamed Rasheed (Maldives) 21-12, 21-8
Second round: Beat Zulhelmi Zulkiffli (Malaysia) 21-14, 21-10
Quarterfinal: Beat 2-Jan Frohlich (Czech Republic) 21-5, 21-18
Semifinal: Beat 4-Anup Sridhar (India) 19-21, 21-19, 21-3
Final: Beat 3-Zuldadli Zulkiffli (Malaysia) 13-21, 21-11, 21-16