Gold for Brooke Stalker in Finland

A productive weekend for Brooke Stalker saw her return from the U13 Forza Finnish Youth International with two gold medals and one silver.

Seeded 5/8 in the singles Stalker came through Group B with ease, winning all three of her matches including a 21-8 21-4 trouncing of Finland’s second seed Tuulia Santalahti.

Equally straightforward wins over fellow 5/8 seed Sai Abhijna Brahmakal (India) and 3/4 seed Heili Merisalu (Estonia) facilitated Stalker’s passage into the final where a 21-13 21-15 win over top seed Lucy Brierley of England secured her the gold medal.

In the doubles Stalker and Brierley paired up, justifying their status as top seeds with wins over Brahmakal and Finland’s Siri Nandikonda in the semi-finals and Estonia’s Heili Merisalu and Emilia Shapavola in the final to claim the title.

In the mixed, Stalker and England’s Aarav Sujith exceeded expectations when the 3/4 seeds reached the final but Brierley and her partner Ibrahim Kulkarni won a close contest 21-19 21-19 to deny Stalker a hat-trick of gold medals.

Full results are at www.tournamentsoftware.com