Not one, but two biggies stood in the way of Thakur Vidya Mandir's Akshan Shetty and the Nike-MSSA under-10 badminton crown.

And much to his surprise, Akshan's dream run continued right through the title round. The unseeded player first took on second seed Yug Nair in the semis and after a spirited display to win 21-10, 21-18 at the North Indian Association yesterday.



After having toppled the second seed and favourite in the semis, Akshan's confidence grew manifold. So, when he locked horns with a much tougher opponent and top seed Viraj Kuvale in the final, Akshan was up for the challenge.u00a0 Both finalists dished out tremendous rallies and amazing net play. The first game was particularly close with both players moving neck-to-neck at 16-16. But Akshan held his nerve and won the first game 21-17 and the second 21-10 to lift the crown. "I watched all of Viraj's matches and realised his backhand was not very strong. I was very confident of defeating him. I made him play a lot from the backhand and it worked for me," Akshan said.