Malvika stuns Saina; Sindhu, Lakshya and Prannoy in last-8
NEW DELHI: PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy advanced to the quarter-finals while the promising Malvika Bansod ended her idol Saina Nehwal’s campaign at the India Open Badminton here on Thursday.
Saina suffered a 17-21, 9-21 loss to her 20-year-old compatriot Malvika in women’s singles second round. Malvika, ranked 111 in the world, took just 34 minutes to see off her rival, becoming only the second Indian to beat Saina since 2017 in any international tournament.
“It was my first meeting with Saina. She has been my idol since I started playing badminton. So, playing against her was a dream come true, that too on a big stage like the India Open which is a Super 500 event. It is a big achievement. It is one of the biggest wins of my career so far,” said an elated
Malvika following her stunning triumph.
Earlier, top seed Sindhu had no problem while dispatching fellow Indian Ira Sharma 21-10, 21-10. In the women’s singles last-8 stage, the 26-year-old Sindhu will meet compatriot Ashmita Chaliha, who defeated Yaelle Hoyaux of France 21-17, 21-14.
Malvika will take on fellow Indian Aakarshi Kashyap in the quarter-final phase.
Aakarshi got the better of compatriot Keyura Mopatin 21-10, 21-10 in another women’s singles second round match to advance in the competition. Meanwhile, Lakshya came up trumps 21-12, 21-15 against Felix Burestedt of Sweden to progress to the men’s singles last-8, where he will contest with Prannoy for a place in the semi-finals.
Prannoy received a walkover as his opponent Mithun Manjunath withdrew from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. Sameer Verma’s campaign came to an end as he retired midway through his second-round match against
It was my first meeting with Saina Nehwal. She has been my idol since I started playing badminton. So, playing against her was a dream come true Malvika Bansod
Brain Yang of Canada due to a calf strain. Men’s singles world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore defeated Malaysia’s Joo Ven Soong in straight games (21-12, 21-12) to reach the quarter-finals.
In men’s doubles, the second-seeded pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat compatriots Shyam Prasad and S Sunjith 21-9, 21-18.