Korea Junior Open Badminton: Luwang wins boys' title; Sathish wins bronze

Maisnam Meiraba Luwang needed only 36 minutes to beat Korean Lee Hak Joo in straight games and secure the Korea Junior Open International title.

Maisnam Meiraba Luwang (left) and Sathish Kumar Karunakaran on the podium after winning gold and bronze medals at the Korea Junior Open Badminton.

Maisnam Meiraba Luwang lived up to his top billing as he clinched the boys’ singles U-19 title at the Woncheon Yonex Korea Junior Open International Challenge 2019 in Miryang, Korea on Saturday.

The top seed from Manipur needed just 36 minutes to brush aside the challenge of 15th seed Lee Hak Joo of Korea in a 21-10, 21-13 win.

Also claiming the bronze in the same category at this Junior International Challenge tournament was eighth seed Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, who had bowed out to Luwang 16-21, 22-24 in a gritty semifinal contest on Friday.

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Luwang, who currently holds the No. 9 spot in the World Junior Rankings, was impressive throughout the week and dropped just one game in six matches. This is the 16-year-old rising star’s third international title this year following his triumphs at the Russian Junior White Nights 2019 and India Junior International 2019.

Luwang would especially be pleased with the way he rebounded after a disappointing exit from the World Junior Championships last month, where he crashed out in the round of 64.