Nagpur shuttler Mugdha wins double crown at SGFI School Nationals

NAGPUR: Living up to her form and reputation, Mugdha Agrey grabbed two gold medals in the 62nd Sports Games Federation of India (SGFI) Badminton National tournament for U-19 boys and girls which concluded at the Divisional Sports Complex at Nashik on Friday.
The talented city shuttler single-handedly guided Maharashtra to triumph in the Inter-State Team Championship by winning both singles as well as doubles matches in the best-of-three tie.After achieving the team goal, Mugdha concentrated on individual glory and did the job perfectly to make a clean sweep in the competition.
Mugdha emulated another promising city shuttler Malvika Bansod, who had bagged twin titles in the U-17 category at Kadappa, Andhra Pradesh, last month.
Mugdha trounced Likhita Shrivastava of DAV School, Delhi, 21-8, 21-14 in the girls singles summit clash. Mugdha's powerful smashes and sharp drives floored Likhita in a one-sided clash. In the semifinal, Mugdha dumped another Delhi girl Namita Pathaniya 21-16, 21-13 in less than half an hour.
Earlier in the team championship, Maharashtra team was unstoppable and won the gold medal. Maharashtra blanked DAV, Delhi, 2-0 in the final. Mugdha won her singles to provide a flying start to her team. Mugdha was again on the court for her doubles encounter. Mugdha and Kalpita Sawant of Mumbai made light work of their opponents to clinch the gold for Maharashtra.
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Seventeen-year-old Mugdha won singles and doubles as Maharashtra thrashed Gujarat 2-0 in the semifinal.
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"I am very happy with my performance at Nashik. I played an attacking game throughout the tournament and got the desired results. Although it is just the beginning, twin titles at Nashik will definitely boost my confidence for next tournaments," said Mugdha.
The teenager trains under Jibi Verghese at the Jibi School of Sports and still has one year left in the junior section.
"I am going to Europe to play Polish Open next month. I want to maintain the momentum and garner as many points as possible to improve my current world rankings of 189," said Mugdha, who is ranked world No. 28 in the U-19 girls singles.