Shuttler Akul Malik claims silver in Bulgarian Junior Open

Chandigarh, July 1

Local shuttler Akul Malik brought laurels to the city by winning a silver medal in the FZ FORZA Bulgarian Junior Open International Badminton Championship under the aegis of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in Pazardzhik (Bulgaria).

Malik, who practices under coach Surinder Mahajan at the Centre of Excellence for Badminton, Sector 38 sports complex, played his first ever BWF event. In the final, Malik went down to Riyan Malhan of the UAE.

Earlier, in the competition, Malik won his first match against top seeded Ivan Tsarhorodtsev of Ukraine by logging a comeback win. In the second round, he beat Ahmet Bera of Turkey and in the pre-quarterfinal he defeated Nisarg Thunga of the UAE. In the quarterfinal, Malik overpowered Marco Danti, followed by a stunning win over Arda Dogac Atan of Turkey.