Ludhiana, Aug. 28 -- City shuttler Lakshay Sharma continues to script his rise on the international badminton stage, clinching a bronze medal in the men's singles open category at the Cameroon International Challenge, held in Yaounde from August 21 to 24. The 19-year-old, currently ranked 179 in the world, stunned higher-ranked opponents before bowing out in the semifinals.

Lakshay began his campaign by defeating UAE's Vishal Vasudevan, world rank 104, with a commanding 21-12, 21-15 win in the pre-quarterfinals. He then ousted Indonesia's Sending Trian Syah 21-15, 21-16 in the quarters. In a hard-fought semifinal, he went down to Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Panarin, ranked 92, by 22-24, 10-21, to settle for bronze. Players from powerhouses such...