New Delhi, Sep 22: The talented Anmol Kharb achieved a remarkable feat by securing her second consecutive title on Sunday, winning the Poland International with a straight-game victory over Switzerland’s Milena Schnider in the women’s singles final held in Lublin.
The 17-year-old, who clinched her maiden international title at the Belgian International the previous week, produced yet another dominant show in the USD 5,000 tournament, outclassing the seventh seed Schnider with a commanding 21-12, 21-8 win in the final.
The Indian clinched the title without dropping a game, continuing her stellar run following her breakthrough victory in Belgium.
Her recent successes have propelled Kharb’s rise in the rankings, with a significant leap of 55 positions following her Belgian victory.
Currently ranked 165th, the Faridabad teenager displayed dominance throughout the 33-minute final, never allowing Schnider to gain any significant advantage.
Kharb quickly established control in the opening game, racing to an 8-3 lead and maintaining her momentum to secure the first game.
In the second, despite a brief 2-0 lead for Schnider, Kharb surged ahead with six straight points and extended her lead to 13-8. She then finished strongly, scoring eight consecutive points to clinch the title.
Kharb began her campaign with a 21-17, 21-16 win over Denmark’s top seed Amalie Schulz, whom she had defeated last week in the final. She then beat Lithuania’s Samanta Golubickaite 21-9, 21-17 before seeing off Ukraine’s Sofiia Lavrova 21-12, 21-7 in the second round.
Kharb then stunned Denmark’s fourth seed Frederikke Lund 21-15, 21-12 in the semifinals.
Kharb came into the limelight after she became the women’s singles national badminton champion at the age of 16. She played a crucial role in India’s triumph at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February.
She had suffered an ankle injury at the Uber Cup in May which set her back. Kharbh, however, made a successful recovery and relocated to Hyderabad to train at the Pullela Gopichand Academy, where her hard work has clearly paid off. (PTI)
