Jennifer wins maiden U-17 medal in national-ranking event

In the semi-final she went down fighting to Kavyasree Baskar (Tamil Nadu) 8-11, 9-11, 8-11, 6-11.

In quarter final Jennifer posted a hard fought 12-10, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-1; win over the second seed Srijit a Shaw of West Bengal and entered into the semifinals.

On her way to seal her first national medal in the U-17 age group, the city paddler surprised second seeded and Delhi's top ranked player Lakshita Narang 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5 in the pre-quarterfinal stage of the tournament.

In the ranking event at Mohali, an unseeded Jennifer gave a positive start to her campaign. In her first outing Jennifer outplayed Sahana Murthy of Karnataka and posted a fine 3-2 victory over Haryana's Gargi Dangi in the second round to set up her first big battle against Delhi's top paddler and second seeded Lakshita.

Earlier in the month, Jennifer won her first medal in the Open Women's group in the state championship to qualify for the national ranking tournaments at Panchkula and Mohali in various age categories.

RESULTS

Semifinal: Jennifer Varghese lost to Kavyasree Baskar (Tamil Nadu) 8-11, 9-11, 8-11, 6-11.

Quarterfinal: Jennifer Varghese bt Srijita Shaw (Bengal) 12-10, 11-8, 12-10, 9-11, 11-1;

PQF: Jennifer Varghese bt Laklshita Narang (Delhi) 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5;

Rd 2: Jennifer Varghese bt Gargi Dangi (Haryana) 11-8, 5-11, 11-13, 11-3, 11-6;

Rd 1: Jennifer Varghese bt Sahana Murthy 11-5, 11-5, 11-4