Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/441551
ITFWORLD WINTER 2014 27 www.itftennis.com final. The 16-year-old's golden triumph came after a violent thunderstorm that saw a temporary shelter alongside the 1,200 capacity main court ripped off its hind legs while angry purple bolts of lightning illuminated the sopping courts. The final was delayed by an hour and 15 minutes as a result but Xu proved unflustered when she finally took to court, shrugging off early butterflies to cruise to a 63 61 triumph over the fatigued Belarusian Iryna Shymanovich. "I'm really excited to win the gold medal," said Xu. "The rain didn't affect me a lot. I was really nervous at the beginning, but the support from all the spectators helped me to relax." The experience of playing — and winning — at the Youth Olympic Games, Xu added, had been a landmark moment in her life. "It's totally different to play something like the Youth Olympic Games as everyone only has one chance to win a medal," she said. "It's a great experience for me in my life and I'm really proud of myself because I won a gold medal for my own country." Runner-up Shymanovich, one of four players participating in Nanjing who would go on to join the International 18&U ITF/GSDF Team to North America 2014, could be content with her silver medal having combined with Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina to win gold in the girls' doubles the day before. "I pulled my leg in the semifinals and I couldn't move so well today, but she's a great player and she deserves this win," said the Belarusian. "I did great in this tournament and I'm so happy to bring home two medals." Russian girls' doubles finalists Darya Kasatkina, this year's junior Roland Garros champion, and Anastasiya Komardina, showed just how much it meant to compete for their country after their narrow 64 64 loss to Kalinina and Shymanovich. "It's hard [to take]," admitted Komardina, fighting back tears. " I'm going to keep the gold medal very close to me all the time." - Kamil Majchrzak Kamil Majchrzak handed Poland Youth Olympic gold in the boys' singles